Customer Reviews

Disaffected

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading a review of Piano Magic's "Disaffected" release, I decided to plop down the cash and buy a copy as I own several other of the band's earlier releases. Nothing I read led me to suspect that the beautiful atmospheric artfulness of the band was sacrificed and, therefore, missing on this cd. However, much to my disappointment, after a couple of listens I realized that Glen Johnson's latest incarnation has drifted a bit too far away from what makes Piano Magic such a aural delight. Frankly, I'd say this cd is a weak mix of This Mortal Coil's simple atmospherics around the time of 'It'll End in Tears' coupled with the lyrical morbidity of Nick Cave without coming close to realizing either band's brillance. To be certain, the cut entitled, 'Deleted Scenes' gets my goth groove moving... but, the simple fact is that this is not an advancement for the band, but simply a minor achievement by artists capable of producing a much more superior recording. My recommendation is buy it only if you can ignore the fact that, by definition, disaffected means being resentful and rebellious, especially against authority. This reviewer suspects that the disaffected element is really Johnson showing the bird to his contract holder and, hopefully, not to us, his consuming public.

I saw this page and just had to write, having owned this record since it was released. I can understand the two previous reviewers' comments somewhat in regard to a scant 2 or 3 tracks, but really-! Get a firm grip here: "You Can Hear the Room" is alone worth the price of the album and stands with the band's best. Scary good. Great Johnson vocal with paradox in plain English at the end. Beautiful and wall-of-sound rocking like they've tried less successfully in the past. Fantastic isolation yet prophetic and personally invested pertinence. Then try "Theory of Ghosts," men, and find yourself saying "Yeah! How true..." Glen again. Finally his own sad take on a city of some obvious importance to him -- "I Must Leave London." You can sing forever about something you've loved. There's also an Angele song where she tells us "Set your clock by your heart," which is a statement about working in this maddened world. The title track, too, is sung by her. Look, if you're a Piano Magic fan, DO NOT EVEN hesitate to buy this.

1 1/2


Energy-sapping release of near-tepid pop-electro ramblings shows the band in a state of inertia fighting to incorporate elements of relevance with little to no conviction.