Time Is Fiction
Posted July 29, 2008
By thirdsaint,
Variety.
If there's one word to describe the songs and the vocalists it's variety. As I keep spinning through this album (which believe me, is happening a lot), I hear at least 3 or 4 different vocal styles. There's two Josh's that sing in this band and I don't know which is which. All I know is one has a deeper sound and the other has a higher voice that remind me of Cedric from The Mars Volta or Gavin from Dredg, as in 'Cold Condition'. In the first song, 'Let Go', both of them combine to create a great contrast in styles as they are backed periodically by shouts. This happens often and it works very well to keep from losing the listeners attention. Some bands are plagued by a vocalist who has no variety in his voice to make songs sound unique from each other. So why not have two that [i]have[/i] variety?
The music is very upbeat but not immediately accessible. It took some time to grow on me since it's not all poppy choruses as much as a work of art that needs many listens to fully grasp all the instruments and harmonies. Those include many string arrangements and horns for good measure. For that reason you can't just listen to it once or twice and judge it. 'Chances' is one of the few tracks that is slower and has a nice touch of trumpets to change things up from the typical ballad and sets a melancholic mood. The drums are another thing that have a strong presence on this album. It's not like the drummer is an animal, but the production is great to help drive the songs and he seems to have a great chemistry with the band. Everything just builds up to a nice climax in the songs and I can't help but get an epic vibe out of a few as in 'All Our Memories' and 'See Me Through'. The latter of which has an awesome climax where the vocals build up before they soar with the guitars and backing vocals kick in. And speaking of epic, the closer title track is a doozy. There was no better way to close out this album. If the tracklisting was any different I'd have to think [I]Time Is Fiction[/I] just wouldn't feel as complete so props to Edison Glass for that.
This is the type of album that has staying power and I don't doubt it'll be one of the best of '08 when it's all said and done. If you give Edison Glass a chance just be sure you give them a few chances and don't just write them off on the first listen. This is a band that knows how to create a true album that works best as a whole as opposed to a few hit singles with filler.
Gems of this album are: 'Cold Condition', 'See Me Through', 'Time Is Fiction', 'All Our Memories'
Overall - 9.2/10 View All Music And Book Reviews By thirdsaint | View thirdsaint's Profile
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