| This review was written by Harry Steele (from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England) in a personal e-mail he sent to me. It appears here (retyped by me) with his permission. |
| "Dinner with Polonius"--the verdict? Excellent, and maybe more importantly, a progression. I don't think that your drum programming has necessarily gotten any better, but on this album, it is used more effectively. The best example of this is on the last track. Whenever I listen to your stuff, I always find myself wishing that I could do some drumming for you (my drumming is better than my bass playing.) Although this is still the case to a certain extent, there are now some songs, particularly the last, that actually sound better with the drum machine. Something that has improved massively is your guitar playing. On this album, there are some beautiful bits of playing, and you seemed to have adopted a more "lo-fi" style (which is great). There are some bits where there are only two or three chords being played, but they are so effective. Perhaps the most startling thing about this is that, for me, this could point the way for a new direction for Moron, if you wanted to choose this (which you wouldn't neccessarily want to.) Songs like track 5 seem to have a more mellow, lo-fi feel. This is a bit of a contrast to more frantic Moron, which is still evident on this CD (like the opening cut.) The following song, "time to hate", has superbly effective guitar playing. This has been coupled with memorable, catchy lyrics and a quick "pop" drum rhythm. The next song, about Baal and his prophets, has a great singing style and again beautiful guitar, and I like the hand claps. The thing with all these songs is that they are classic Moron, which is a very distinct style. When I listen to them, I can't help but think that, probably for the first time for Moron, they could retain that unmistakeable style but could also be reworked to be more commercially viable. Now don't get me wrong. The great thing about Moron is that it skirts all the rules of music: anything that should be done is ignored, and stuff that shouldn't be done is included, and I love that. However, most people struggle with it, and I like that too. Moron is a refined taste for a select group of people who have discerning taste and a full understanding of music! I know that's not what you are aiming for, nor is commercial success. This is the thing that shines through the music the most. It's kind of personal between you and God; if other people can get involved, great. However, if a laid back style of drumming was added to these songs (as perfected by later Starflyer 59), then you would have a kind of oxymoron: something that was commercial enough to appeal to quite a large group of people who like non-commercial music. I guess I mean bands like Starflyer, Pedro the Lion (those are the only Christian bands like it that I can think of. Non-Christian would be Galaxy 500, Slint, Ride, Pavement, early REM.) This isn't a criticism of anything that Moron has done before, nor of what is yet to come, just an observation. I think my favourite tracks so far are 12 and the last one. |
| Editor's...I mean...Typer's Note: The medical term for the condition described in paragraph 7 below is called Notknowinganybetteritis. |