So I’m going to open this one by saying I like the album, and I’m keeping it. I think its necessary to reverse my usual writing formula, where I say this at the end, because there seem to be a lot of negative reviews of this on the web and I have some negative criticisms myself. I do enjoy the album, but I’ll get to why in a bit.
The album is decidedly lo-fi. I don’t consider that a sin, especially in indie, but it has become jarring as home recording equipment has become amazingly advanced in the last few years. This album came out in 2004, solidly in the period where some of these issues should have been easily solvable by a home producer.
Issues like the vocals. It can be really upsetting when the vocals are too far forward in a mix. It is like having a guy be three inches from your face. As with guys who talk too close to your face, it is made much worse when this is accompanied by an extremely slow, monotone delivery of none-to vital information. It would be different if the singer was screaming an impassioned plea for us to stop cutting down Mother Nature’s afro.
For example.
In that case it would provide emotional impact. But imagine if postal service had put the vocals heavily above the other instrumentation, and you’ll have a good idea what this is like. Except he isn’t singing about impending global warming or the nature of love. There was one song where he was talking about parrot training. This is of course a metaphor, but the experience is very much like the aforementioned unpleasant person at a party who insists on invading your personal space to discuss something that is not very interesting.
Once you get past the unfortunate vocal mix you find that the lyrics are pretty good, with some nice wordplay. The music is clever and spare indie techno. Think Postal Service giving a live performance but they forgot to bring the second thumb stick with the other half of their samples. The effect, especially when combine with the somewhat airy delivery of the vocals, is kind of charming and childish. This has been criticized by some of the other critics out there as a weakness, or evidence of mediocrity. Given that this is called “The Angry Album” and that most of the lyrics are very bitter I’d think it obvious that the musical tone is an exercise in sarcasm, or “irony” as the indie kids call it. If the music is missing anything it is obvious pop-hooks towards the beginning of the album. The childish innocence of the music makes the lack palatable and the second half of the album starts to make up for it a bit.
Overall, The Angry Album uses a minimalistic indie electronic to very good effect. By minimalizing the composition the listener is encouraged to focus on the song writing that is present, and that is good. The production is not as good, and given the minimalism these issues are magnified. The overall effect is a good, enjoyable album. It was never going to win any awards but I will be holding on to it.
So get your own damn copy.
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