Customer Reviews

Cursive's Domestica

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I got this cd a couple weeks ago and I love it. I think i'll start with a track listing since amazon doesn't give one.

1.The Casualty
2.The Martyr
3.Shallow Means, Deep Ends
4.Making Friends and Acquintances
5.A Red So Deep
6.The Lament of Pretty Baby
7.A game of who needs the Most
8.The Radiator Hums
9.I Lost the Will to Fight

Okay, now my thoughts. I love Cursive and I love this album. The reason I give it 4 stars is for its length and a few below-average tracks. Although most people claimed 'The Radiator Hums' to be their favorite track, I found it to be one of the low points of the album. Another weak track that threw me off was 'A Red so Deep'.
Now onto the good side of the album. I can't stop listening to the first track and the last track, they are amazing. Some more favorites of mine are The Martyr, Making Friends and....., and the Lament of Pretty Baby.

Lastly, whats everyone problem with 'Shallow Means, Deep Ends', sure its a little different then the rest of the album, but its still a good song.

I, unfortunately, got into the Cursive obsession later into my life, missing the debut of this CD. Speaking as a recent fan of the band, it's safe to say that in the two years since the release of the album, it still sounds more complex, more forward, than most releases in the past two years. Cursive uses obscure and extremely ragged song-writing techniques: Less reliance on chord structures and typical I-IV-V songwriting that dominates rock and more reliance on the "odd note". The melody is very rarely carried by the guitars or the bass, but mostly by Tim Kasher. All the instruments basically support his vocals.

To go song by song in this album would do an injustice to it. If anything, "Domestica" is a concept album about a marriage/relationship gone wrong, but not told in a crying, "pity-me" voice that dominates emo. Instead, the album conveys all the emotions of how one's life gets sent into a downward spiral of depression. What makes the album especially interesting is certain motifs that run through all the songs: in the later tracks, such as "The Radiator Hums," you will hear bits and pieces of the earlier tracks. These tiny snippets of the other songs are both tasteful and haunting, disarming and allarming the listener and allowing the listener to truly experience what is happening, emotionally.

Chalk this one up as a stellar album, do yourself a favor and get it, no matter what anyone tells you. While it may be initally too abrasive and a bit too difficult to swallow, once your ears get used to the Cursive sound, their music is all-encompassing.

I really am amazed. I never give anything five stars. I actually hadn't heard this band before they played the song 'The Martyr' on the local college station here wras.org. When I heard it, I was interested but I didn't really know just how into this album I would get.

Basically this album has it all.

1. It tackles a very mature and intelligent subject; the devolution of the relationship of a seemingly intelligent couple, from the first realization of unhappiness, through the searing pain of jealousy, and anxiety, to the childish willful baiting and taunting of each other, and finally to resignation and defeat. Difficult stuff, but real, and lyrically portrayed honestly. You don't get intelligent lyrics like this on a pop album.

2. Amazing music. Very heavy, and loud, but not without purpose. I would say a tiny bit like Metallica maybe . . .but not. In the way that the Cowboy Junkies are like stylized country, then this would be stylized metal I guess - you got to hear it.

3. Purpose. This is an album, like how people used to make albums. You're rewarded for listening to the entire thing in order and one song leads to the next.

Its really a remarkable accomplishment, I give it my highest rating, its especially relevant to anyone who has been divorced or gone through an aweful breakup which is like what . . . nearly all of us.

of course being from nebraska, there really isn't a huge selection of bands to choose from...but these guys win easy. in fact, screw calling them a "local band". these guys are one of my favorite "emo" bands anywhere. these guys are the definition of "emo" if you ask me. the vocals are amazing and truly original, the guitars can go from soft pop to post-punk instantly, and the driving rhythm section holds together beautifully. this is a more mature album and more refined/polished than their previous efforts if you ask me, but in no way is that a bad thing. fans of fugazi and sunny day real estate should dig this album. the only bad thing about this album is that it's too short, but if i could, i would give this album 4.5 stars rather than just 4. it's a great album worth buying.

if you like this album, check out the casket lottery, death cab for cutie, and at the drive-in (if you haven't already!).

The first Cursive album I ever bought was The Ugly Organ. After listening to that album seventy times in a row, I thought it was time to listen to some other work by Cursive.

I bought this one.

I had only ever listened to two of the songs on this album 'fore I bought it, The Martyr and The Radiator Hums, and of course I adored them. So I decided to buy the album they were on.

It took me a few listens to the whole album to really get into it. After you learn the lyrics (or just read through the little booklet thing with the lyrics in it) you realize it's a story, like the songs on The Ugly Organ, and like I'm assuming it is on their other albums. As soon as I had memorized the lyrics to the songs on this album I adored them.

So buy it, give it a chance, and fall in love with it. It's a must-have for any fan of emotional music and for anyone who loves deep lyrics.

this is one of the best cds ever created by any one, ever. great hooks, excelent lyrics, amazing guitar work and song writing. seeing them live is like a religious experience. espically when they add the cello to domestica songs. buy it, now. if you listen to music on any other level other than "oh, i like some stuff, but i don't know the names of the bands i like" then buy this now. now. now. also get the new cd, but it sounds more produced and not as harsh. i like this better, cause it's more real. but they're both great. i love the live videos on the new cd though. rock! power! ...

while listening to the first track on the album, "the casualty", i am reminded of two summers ago. in fact, this whole album has a summer feel to it. while you're listening to it, you'll want to open up the windows (providing it's not below 45 outside, haha). i am reminded of a sonic youth album, particularly experimental jet set, trash, and no star. i'm sure cursive has some influences from the band.

tim kasher's vocals are powerful enough to be labeled emo, and the music is structured like something indie you'd find. but cursive fits neither one of those categories.

"the martyr" is companion to "the casualty" and has a harsher sound, deservingly. i wasn't really amazed by "shallow means, deep ends", but the next track more than makes up for it lagging qualities. "making friends and acquaintances" is a brilliant track, with the addition of piano. i wish they would've used some more piano on the album, but this is it here. "a red so deep" is a long, drawn out love/heart-breaking story with its ups and downs. you certainly feel that with the swaying vocals and music.

i didn't know what to expect from "the lament of pretty baby", but it certainly set a different tone after "a red so deep". it drives from fast moving guitars and dual vocals. tim and ted stevens chant "someone fix me. won't someone fix me?" no fixing needed here.

"the game of who needs who the worst" has a brilliant bass line and interesting setup that provides good first-listen appeal. as usual, the song drifts from powerful vocals to quick interludes. toward the end, it picks up and cursive finally rocks out harder than on any other track. bravo. it works perfectly.

now i am reminded of braid as track number eight begins. even the chorus sounds like something from frame and canvas. cursive brilliantly blends their own style and tone into "the radiator hums". to close the album, cursive plays "the night i lost the will to fight". tim's voice even sounds different, muffled even, signaling that the album will be ending. i was impressed with this song's ability to take everything on the album and sum it up using just two stanzas.

by the end of the record, you'll be contemplating everything that cursive has written. you'll try to sum it up in one sentence, but it's impossible to do so. but you will be praising cursive for taking you through this album of ups and downs, because this isn't just another lame, poppy-emo record or an over-the-top brutal hardcore knockdown. it has heart and more than one tone. and after all, that's exactly what cursive has set out to do.

this is a storybook album. it's about love and hate and everything inbetween. maybe this is why cursive is described as "the politics of love and hate". listen.

keep the windows open, and put the record on again.

I know I was. Then I started venturing out and listening to lesser known bands like Cursive. Cursive is just plain amazing. Why a band like this isn't famous and winning Grammys is beyond me. I guess that's just the way the music industry works. Maybe less fame will cause less pressure and this band will stay together for awhile longer. Everything they've done up to this point is so amazing that I can't wait to see what comes next. Check out the official site of Saddle Creek (their label) for some mp3s if you're not sure about purchasing this cd. All I can tell you is that I absolutely love listening to this album and it's a pleasure for me to support this band by buying it.

Wow...I'm still totally blown away. Tim Kasher continually kicks my ... with his whisper/scream/sing style. This album is so intense that I can barely listen to it while driving for fear that the music will completely envelope me. The guitar is completly hypnotic with its complex minor-key riffs. The lyrics are a driving force and are a mix of heart wrenching relationship-gone-wrong songs and those that shine a new light on "domestic" america.Favorite songs on the album would have to be "The Casualty"..this song just gets you all pumped up with its driving chorus, "Shallow Means, Deep Ends" and "The Radiator Hums" Cursive truly continues to be the front runner for the underground indie-emo scene emerging from the midwest.

I first saw Cursive when I went to see Poison the Well a while back. I have been hooked ever since. The band is horribly talented both musically and lyrically. It is nothing that I would normally listen to, but they are so incredible live that I am suprised I did not die from excitment. This is by far one of the best cd's that I have ever had. Everyone who gets in my car has to listen to Cursive. I love them and if you have any taste in music you will love them too. Completely beautiful from song 1 to song 9.