Gimmme an E! Gimme another E! Whatta they spell??? Right! Elizabeth Elmore!
I saw her recently. In the flesh. Any regular reader of this chronicle must understand at least part of what that means!
But before I can even present my account of that heated moment, I feel obliged to provide a foundation of sorts. Catch Elizabeth live in my next entry! It's all written & everything, but I wanna give you time to digest. So w/o further ado, I present....
Force Manure
Being a Brief Consideration of The Reputation's Second Recording, To Force a Fate.
by Harley Bumslurper
A general thesis: To Force a Fate is esthetically inferior to its predecessor, The Reputation. It is also less enjoyable to experience.
There are a number of obvious reasons for this difference. First is a general lack of distinction—and presumably of assurance--in the second album's use of the basic building blocks of popular music—including, but not limited to catchy, pretty melodies; the eloquent expression of universal emotions; and invigorating rhythms. Second is a the not unrelated absence of esthetic chances taken, as even within the arena of popular music, the author takes moderate formal experimentation as a useful resource that may be used by the artist to distinguish her music from the rest of the pop glop available on CD. Third—and I will not say finally, as I have doubtlessly overlooked other areas—is a lack of emotional force, expressed either vocally or musically within this recording.
That being said, I feel that I've often maligned the record w/o specifically indicating what is wrong w/ it. So I would like to work through the album song by song, providing brief reflections on each one. (I will omit a careful consideration of the lyrics, as I have no transcriptions available to me at this time):
-"Let This Rest" - A promising opener—energetic, catchy and sentimental. It ain't "Either Coast," but it's a pretty good, if undistinguished example of the Rep's M.O.
-"Bottle Rocket Battles" - The most challenging track, 'tho not necessarily the best. (Not sure what that would be, so I guess this could be a candidate. The dual male/female vocal undercuts the typical myopic bias of Elizabeth's lyrics. The chorus is moody, but pretty, & there's a downright hilarious hair-band lead-in to its 2nd run. It's nice to see the band trying something different & good to find them tryin' to rock. Too bad they don't make much of an effort elsewhere.
-"Follow-Through Time" - Unleash the lousy "jazzy" piano! Good points: nice melody, some pretty singing, 'tho Elizabeth doesn't sound very confident, but rather a little restrained. At least it's a little louder. A pretty good track that's just not very engaging or memorable. (And as such, it seems to go on for, like, ever.)
-"Face It" - Again, undistinguished, and to my ear it's drifting into adult contemporary/soft rock radio territory. I do like the forceful, pissy way Elizabeth belts out that chorus. Again, it's damn unfortunate that she doesn't show this kinda fire through very often elsewhere.
-"The Lasting Effects" - OK, here's a candidate for the disc's worst track. This one's just riddled w/ bad choices, from the wimpy, morose trumpet to that male guest vocal--in its own ridiculous way, as memorable as the guy/chick singing dynamics of "Bottle Rocket Battles." Its indistinct warbly quality makes you wonder just who the fuck that poor slob is and why the fuck did he let 'em stuff his mouth fulla cotton. (I'm assuming that's partly a mixing issue.) A crappy lead guitar, sparkly rhythm section, and there's that goddamn trumpet again! This one not only approaches a soft rock style, it stumbles into it like an American platoon at the Cambodian border.
-"March" - Dontcha hate it when a singer starts directly addressing the sun, a feeling or a time of day or year. I mean, who the fuck is Elizabeth supposed to be here, Lord Byron? What's more, she sounds less than assured as a vocalist, songwriter or arranger. The melody is amorphous. The song is boring. And again, it sounds like some adult contemporary monstrosity, which given its immediate predecessor, makes you feel like yr. growing worries about this record are pretty nearly certainties at this point.
-"Cartography" - A notably stupid name. (I restrained myself from commenting on this silliness elsewhere.) It almost makes you think that she's playing Thelonious Monk here. And hey! She is playing a keyboard! She's shooting for jazzy once again, w/ similarly deflating results. For some reason, the dull guitar playing leaps out at me as the most obvious sign of general torpor. This song's not quite as bad as "Follow-Through Time," but it's also not quite as bad as a Rick Astley tune. Unfortunately, it is a cousin of Mr. Astley's work.
-"Some Senseless Day" - Finally! A little musical aggression! And coupled w/ one of those beautiful melodies that Elizabeth used to knock out w/o breaking a sweat, (or so it seemed,) it becomes something like the sound that drew me to The Reputation. The trumpet is as superfluous as ever, but its weird Bitches Brew feel actually made me notice it at least. Aside from "Bottle Rocket Battles," this is the only other contender for the record's best song, 'tho I'm surprised I listened long enough to hear it.
"Anarchy in the U.K." - Fooled ya! Really 'tho, this is the point in the album where I start wishing I was listening to the Sex Pistols
-"The Ugliness Kicking Around" - (Another dumb title.) The keys here are the best ones you'll find on this CD. And the track's the only decent ballad around as well. The trumpet shows up again, but it's settled back into dull mopery. The song's OK. It kinda feels like it's shooting at "For the Win" in its moodiness & extended arrangement, but it lacks that song's fire. Also: strings? Why the fuck does this song need strings??? Elizabeth, please, calm down! At least it's a little too bold and forceful to come across as a straightforward stab at soft rock soft core.
-"Bone-Tired" - Minus the guest bleating, this one sounds just like "The Lasting Effects." That means it sucks. It is a nice change to hear Elizabeth being warm, rather than hot-headed or weepy. But overall, this track feels half-hearted, & being the last track on such a short--by contemporary standards—album, it comes across as filler.
In summation: To Force a Fate seems compromised by a desire to come across w/ a hit. Maybe the move to Lookout! Records put pressure on Elizabeth. Or maybe the fact that she was running short on ideas did. She seems to be flailing about here, in search of songs. (It is reminiscent of a late-period Corey Patterson at-bat.) Whatever the case, the album's over-busy and lacks bite or attitude. It's only 40 minutes long, but it feels much longer. As a sincere fan, I hope it doesn't indicate the direction in which the band is headed.
