Gordonsan's Blog

TheHigh Road was a perfect decision to be put on not only their first single but their first song. The song has been topping the charts since it was produced a few years ago. It might have been a little strong on the electronics and the video was a little hard to follow in sequential order, but Mercer’s haunting voice sent it over the edge in my opinion. The hook comes in like a straight shot to your arm and fills your body with warmth and a tingling feeling. The song did not deliver anything unexpected but the quality of the song is outstanding. It doesn’t sit there without craft nor does it try and color too far outside the lines.
In Vaporize, Mercer’s voice ebbs and flows like a rebel tide hitting in all the vulnerable places before it consumes everything around it. They were a little lighter on the electronic side favoring drum and guitar with a faint hint of something more in the background. The chorous comes on strong like a rock anthem which makes you question why the song is better known on the album as a favorite amongst the high road and the ghost inside.
On Your Head is On Fire, I feel like the hand was a bit too heavy on all those mysterious nobs you see in the recording studio. The taste came out a little rich and the song did not fit too well in the album I thought. If there was any song I felt could be left out then it would probably be with one.
The Ghost Inside heads into another chart topping single. Mercers falsetto matches the down ward beat of the drums from Danger Mouse giving it a sickly sweet feel to it. There is no wonder why this song is getting so much attention as it becomes part of your mixed cds and playlists to find yourself thumbing over and over again. The keyboards and strings stretch the song like a treandy sweater pulling all the strings until your left with nothing.
Where the last two chart toppers had a sound that followed the album this one certainly did not. The song is disjointed where it stops and starts where it pleases and it becomes obvious that they were definitely trying something different with this track. The song however definitly belongs in the album and possibly gives us something to look forward to in their next attempt.
In the upbeat lyrical chords for Trap Doors Mercers voice is supplemented but sounds bare and broken. The soft humming in the background gives it a Gorillaz feel to it while the rest of the beat is noticably printed as Mercer and Danger Mouses, the Broken Bells. Probably an overlooked song on the album but it does much more then just fill up a slot on the album. The great thing about this group is that there is always a new element in all their songs. Not necessarily needed as they could have made three albums with all their ideas but they are welcome ingrediants in the musical interworkings..
Citizen has you take a trip back to the early 90′s with a sample straight out of Lou Reed and Nico’s the Velvet Underground. The song rises up like a sunrise in outerspace soft and unnasuming around a blanket of darkness. The chorus uplifting and grounded at the same time guides the song around the blank landscape. Of all the songs covered so far this is a great song to just kick back to and enjoy the beats as they come at you.
October is by far my favorite song on the album and I cannot help but hear it multiple times. The song is beautifully layered everything working together like cogs in a machine making war machines. It is that heavy and the sound comes out clear and not distorted at all. The song is strangely defiant and the chorus hits strong facing itself like looking in a mirror and seeing something different different and impure. For me songs don’t get any better then this. It just keeps picking itself up hitting a wall and changing directions moving faster still.
Mongrel Heart sits somewhere completely different. It is something foreign and exotic with a heavy drum and bass feeling to it. It shows early signs of Joy Division and other 80′s bands tempting themselves with new technology in song making. The voices drops out to kick up the beat up again like a body out of synch making its own movements. It is clashing and beautiful at the same time.
The last song on the album, The Mall and Misery, might give us something to look forward to in the upcoming album. The song is covered in waves and as much as a cliche as it might sound it shows you something out of an acid trip. There are beautiful guitar hooks which I felt were lacking in the album so I was glad to hear some used even if it was on the last track.
All in all I loved this album and I can’t wait to hear what they work on next togehter, even if their schedules are busy with their other bands and performers. The album was beautiful and I’m sure they will be working to one up themselves in any way they can.