Customer Reviews

Breach [Vinyl]

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Well after four years of waiting the day arrived. I can't say I was disappointed at all. Although the lyrics lack the complexity of the earlier albums - they certainly are more honest. Jakob also sounds different too. But, in this case different is good. I think any band needs an evolution of sorts, while not being the one I would have predicted - it's probably better than the one which everyone expected. They're more Tom Petty than Hootie or the Counting Crows. Sleepwalker is a great track as is Up from Under (beautiful). One thing I have noticed, no pianos...why?? Not complaining, just wondering. The UK version of this CD has a Sleepwalker demo track and the hidden track Babybird - also fantastic. I would say out of 12 of the tracks, 9 are outstanding. The track Murder 101 featuring Elvis Costello is The Wallflowers at their best. Don't compare it to previous albums, rate it on it's own merits - there are many to choose from.

In a soulful and tragic sound, The Wallflowers release an album that is a triumph of introspective and self-aware understanding. The melody of this album matches up perfectly with the lyrics to express a truly personal event that we are all invited to come and take an active part in witnessing. To sum all of that up: Damn, Jakob Dylan can write a song.

Even though it was a four-year wait from their last work of excellence, the wait was worth it. This album is different, a little more in tune with inner feelings and expressing doubts and concerns, but still excellent. An excellent blend of up and down, fast and slow. It's an exceedingly extraordinary album that combines pop rock, folk rock, and the blues. I've already played it to death in the month that I've owned it. I think you will, too. Quality is worth returning to and repeating.

On one final note, this edition of The Wallflower's "(Breach)" comes with a special bonus CD, featuring a live recording of "Invisible City" and the first release from the new album, "Sleepwalker." You might as well go ahead and get this edition: similar price and a bonus CD.

I was never a big Wallflowers fan...until now. I thought Bringing Down the Horse was ok but overrated. Since Breach came out, I have since revisited BDTH and have come to like it. That said, I believe that Breach is a better album. The first time I listened to Breach, I thought it was a decent collection but had no stand out tracks. Boy, did my opinion change after several listens. Dylan explores the difficulties of being a second generation star in Hand Me Down. I've Been Delivered and Witness are two of the best ballads I've heard in years. As for the rockers, Some Flowers Bloom Dead, Letters From the Wasteland, and Sleepwalker are outstanding. There really isn't a bad track on the album. On the last listed track, Birdcage, (there is a hidden one) Jakob Dylan's voice starts to sound a little like another famous Dylan. I guess in some ways it will always be like father like son. Now when can we see a double billing of the Wallflowers and Bob Dylan? That's a show I would like to see.

Most bands falter under the pressure of following up a huge album. And all too often a stylistic shift dooms good artists. Yet here the Wallflowers defeat both those challenges with an incredible, beautiful album. They move away from the rockin sound of their wildly successful Bringing Down the Horse and deliver a more stripped-down acoustic based, folk inspired album. This works perfectly, and the results are moving. The soulful "Mourning Train", visual "Some Flowers Bloom Dead", and "Up From Under" all carry Jakob Dylan's genius lyrics and wordplay along with some of his best vocals yet. "Letters From the Wasteland" and the single "Sleepwalker" turn up the volume a little but but lose nothing in the power department. Breach didn't sell nearly as well as BDTH or the next album Red Letter Days, which further proves the mainstream public doesn't know good music (although the Wallflowers are one modern rock band fighting all the crap). This is a ten-song masterpiece that you will not just hear but FEEL. Anyone with parents will understand the despair of "Hand Me Down" and that's just the beginning. Don't buy the "flop" argument around this album, it's just too good for most people. Don't be one of them!!!

I have never been a big fan of the Wallflowers. The fact that "One Headlight" was played every 15 minutes for about a year probably has something to do with that. However, Breach is something of a revelation to me. From the first rack to the last one, I find myslef enjoying each and every song, skipping nothing, and listening to the album no less than three times a day. Songs like "Up From Under" and "Letters From the Wasteland" may not have the immense radio appeal of "One Headlight," but this is an album that's greater than the sum of its parts. I've read the critical reviews, including the less-than-glowing 4 of 10 Spin offered, but the truth is that this is a very good offering. Joakob Dylan's voice sounds great, and while critics attack some of the album's lyrics, ostensibly becasue they're unoriginal, I get the feeling it's because he's not his old man. I love Bob Dylan; he's actually my favorite artist. But holding Jakob Dylan (or anyone) to his standards sets them up for failure no matter what they do. So, this is my advice: read what the critics say if you want, but buy the album and decide for yourself whether or not it's good. And if your tastes fall in line with mine, you won't be able to stop listening.

A few years ago, a friend loaned me "Bringing Down The Horse", the second Wallflowers album and told me he loved it. I'd heard the first album too, but when I listened to Horse, I initially thought it was just acceptable. But for some reason, I listened to it again and again. Soon, I was sold, totally.

When Breach hit the shelves, I picked it up, having read positive reviews. Initially, I thought it was just acceptable. But for some reason, I listened to it again and again. Soon, I was sold, totally.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here and it's one I've experienced with other bands in the past. I can listen to some music until the cows come home and it will never grow on me. Some stuff I like the first time I hear it. Then there's music like the Wallflowers, which typically has some, but limited appeal to me on initial listening. Then, over time, I find myself sinking into the groove and finding something in there that means something real to me. Based upon the opinions of about a dozen people I've introduced to this disc, my reactions are not at all abnormal.

The first four tunes are very catchy and immediately pulled me in, but I was surprised at how much more there was to explore. This CD is not just a collection of good rock songs that work well together. It has depth that comes from struggle, has a lot of contrasts, has a lot of variation in expression - sometimes using a bitter irony to express the pain of rejection. "Hand me Down" and "Murder 101" are obvious examples of that irony. It tends toward negativity, but it's not a world-weary or twisted kind of negativity; it's more about an awakening to disppointment and facing it. "Some Flowers Never Bloom" is a sad song about a broken relationship, but it has an upbeat kind of tempo and a catchy refrain.

The strongest song on the CD in my opinion is "I've been Delivered". The lyrics are about a struggle against conformity: "I would move swift when the sounds of a trumpet would blow/I've been the puppet/I've been the strings/I know the vacant face it brings". Another song about deliverance is the hidden track "Baby Bird".

This is a CD that wears well with many good songs tightly put together.

I'm not really a huge fan of the Wallflowers, but there is plenty to be excited about this release. I like this even better than their last release. I have listened to this CD more than 15 times. Many songs became memorable after the second listening, and they did not become tiresome even after repeated listening. It reminds me of some great albums from Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty (where are they now and what are they doing?), but Wallflowers infused more late '90 early '00's alternative sensibility and musical arrangements into their music. Like the last album, it is filled with memorable and brilliant hooks and intriguing lyrics. It just slacked a little in the middle toward the end (or my attention span is getting shorter), but no songs made me want to hit the snooze button, and the last song (Birdcage) a hidden track (Babybird) bring it to a fulfilling closure. Check out Letters from the Wasteland, Hand Me Down, Sleepwalker, I've Been Delivered, and Birdcage.

This is another one of those to make you wonder why an album doesn't sell. With the release of Breach, the Wallflowers seemed perfectly poised to have another smash hit. Not only is this is the follow-up to their enormously successful album, Bringing Down the Horse, but Jakob Dylan's family name also goes far in the music business. More importantly, Breach is a collection of great songs. In light of the above, this album would appear to be destined for success. For some reason, however, Breach was barely a blip on the sales charts.

Don't let the lack of sales fool you. If you liked Bringing Down the Horse, you will enjoy this album. With Breach, Jakob and the band simply picked up where they left off on their last album; they're still playing honest, straightforward rock and roll. On this album, there's no hype, no gimmick, no pretense, no politics, and no excess. These songs stand on their own because they are simply excellent tunes, well written and well performed without a bunch of fanfare, electronics, or studio techniques.

"Letters from the Wasteland" is the opening track, a smooth rocker with a soaring chorus. "Hand Me Down" is backed by some great chords, and "Sleepwalker" is another graceful up-tempo rock song. "I've Been Delivered" is perhaps my favorite song on the album with its infectious rhythm and interesting instrumentation. "Witness" is a pleasant ballad, and "Some Flowers Bloom Dead" is another inviting song with a sing-along chorus. "Mourning Train" and "Up from Under" are slower, acoustic tunes that provide an appropriate change of pace. The faster rock resumes with "Murder 101", another entertaining song, and the album closes with the warm and wistful "Birdcage."

I think this was one of the best albums of last year, and I definitely recommend it to those who like pure, unadulterated rock music.

I'd heard many comments and reviews that sid Breach was a highly personal collection of songs (long overdue). BEing highly critical of most reviews, I picked up the new CD (with a second, bonus disc, much to my surprise) with an excited but cautious attitude. Having listened to it, I find myself in the unusual position of actually agreeing with critics. 'Breach' is a highly introspective piece of rock/pop. Jakob Dylan overtly plumbs, for the first time, his life experiences to pen most of these songs. The straight ahead songs of Bringing Down the Horse are mostly absent from this set (though does anyone really know what 'One Headlight' was about), the first single 'Sleepwalker' not withstanding. The tone is low-key and relaxed, for the most part, though 'Murder 101' does pick up the pace towards the end, with its quick burst of energy. The most intircate song on the disc is probably 'Some Flowers Bloom Dead' and it's pervasive central metaphor. This song is destined to be a classic, though it may never be a hit. The current dominance of pop and rap-rock over the music industry will probably limit the commercial success of this album, but to true fans of rock and roll, this will solidify the place of the Wallflowers in the anals of rock, and only hints at the beauty of what's to come.