I've been holding off writing a review of this CD for a little while. Augie March albums tend to reveal more and more after several listens. They're complex, both musically and lyrically. With their latest album 'Watch Me Disappear', I think my first impression will be somewhat of a lasting one.
Augie March are one of the best bands in Australia. You should definitely listen to their first three albums. One of the things I like about them is they write about Australian places, and history, without causing embarrassment. They even have songs about Hobart ('Mt Wellington Reverie' from Moo, You Bloody Choir, 'The Slant' and get this - 'The Glenorchy Bunyip', both from Watch Me Disappear). In that regard, they are one of the most "Oz" bands I can think of... they're up there with Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel.
Their last album brought them commercial success so it was always going to be interesting to see where they went next. 'Watch Me Disappear' sounds like Augie March, but unfortunately, it sounds like Augie March on auto pilot. Some of the songs seem empty when compared to their previous offerings. It's still a nice album to listen to and a few of the songs - 'Becoming Bryn', 'The Slant', and 'Dogsday' are among the best they've ever written. One of the great things about Augie March, are the lyrics of singer Glenn Richards. They are just as good on this album. He's able to write phrases that don't always make sense but sound great and conjure up fantastic imagery (ahem). "The mothers' competitions, the fathers' stifled yawns/
In this hazy picnic season, light beer and gentle treason."
While 'Sunset Studies' and 'Strange Bird' (the first two albums) are difficult to pigeon-hole into a genre, this album falls neatly into the "pop" box. It lacks the attention to detail of their earlier songs, where every chord change and melody were unpredictable and fresh. I don't feel as though this album will improve much with age, either...
I was a little disappointed with the overall result, but very pleased to hear some great new songs. It's worth getting on special.
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3 comments:
I really like that album art work, very cool
It's a terrible album done on the rush. Extremely disappointing by one of my favourite bands. I agree about The Slant, that's a ripper, one song does not an album make.
Benny
The more I listen to the album, the more bored I am by it.
There are only 3 songs on it that I bother with now.
Such a shame because their other albums are so rich with detail and contain so many well-polished songs!
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