Customer Reviews

Eternal Youth

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

 

 

As a longtime Magnetic Fields fan, I have come to expect each CD to be fairly different. Especially with Stephin's "side" projects, the 6ths, the Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes. Usually FBH are the furthest off from the tree, as it involves Chris Ewen in the writing process instead of solely Stephin.

Everyone is always saying how Stephin uses so many casio keyboards, but Future Bible Heroes is where the electronic blips, squelchy keyboards and other synthetics really knock over your light-bright(tm).

If I had to compare this CD to previous releases, of course I'd compare it to the FBH debut "Memories Of Love", but it is really more akin to a poppier version of the 6ths CD "Hyacinths and Thistles". Lyrically, and the fact this is the first CD since "Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees" to feature solely one female vocalist, I am reminded of the debut MF CD: "WB/DPT".

The lovely Miss Claudia Gonson sings all the vocals on this CD (10 vocal tracks, 6 ewen-strumentals) More moody than "Memories of Love", the cohesiveness of having only one vocalist adds to the dream like quailty of the CD. Stephin doesn't come out of the hazey keyboard fog to spook you. It's Claudia, being fun, feisty, far-off and far-out.

In more than one place, this CD reminds me of Mimi's CD "Soak", surreal vocals, dreamy atmospherics,clashing electronics but with more pop elements than "Soak".

Losing Your Affection - Safety-dance sort of love song.

Doris Daytheearthstoodstill - imagine being a tentacled alien on a far off radiation drenched planet, watching old transmission of Earth 60's b-movies and beach boys songs.

A Thousand Lovers In A Day - possibly the most downbeat Merritt song since "Crowd of Drifters".

I'm A Vampire - the pop-hit single sort of song.

The World Is A Disco Ball - Are disco balls Stephin's new recurring theme?

All in all, was expecting something a few notches poppier, but NOT disappointed.

And admittedly, he has also done worse, if we want to go on a song-by-song basis. True, the lyrics are still wry and the rhymes are clever, but unlike other albums, I didn't catch myself singing memorable little lines back to myself like I usually do after first listening to a new Stephinn Merritt-related album. I think my biggest problem, personally, may have been the lack of Stephinn's vocals. I felt that The Magnetic Fields made a turn for the better when he took over the singing duties many years ago. It's fine to delegate, but his misery-laden crooning is one of the things I like most about The Magnetic Fields. Claudia Gonson sometimes sounds bored or overwhelmed while singing, which works fine for some songs, but not for all of them. If you're not overly familiar with Merritt's generous output, I wouldn't start here, and if you're not a rabid collector of all things Merritt, you wouldn't miss too much by not having this album.

Those familiar with Stephin Merritt will be unsurprised (and maybe - like me - disappointed) to discover he pursues his idiosyncratic ways with the second FBH album. All the elements for a classic electro-pop album are present, yet Merritt and partner-in-crime Christopher Ewen twist everything to create a ghostly, morose work. "Eternal Youth" only fitfully achieves the pop splendour of "Memories of Love", and there's certainly no "Hopeless" on this new album.
There are compensations: "A Thousand Lovers In A Day", "No River", and the closing "The World Is A Disco Ball" combine exquisite melodies with elegant yet forbidding lyrics and arrangements. It's certainly not an album to hear as casual background music (it's jaggedly poppy and unsettling), and I agree with the reviewer who thinks this album sounds like Merritt's earlier album "The Wayward Bus". Claudia Gonson's limitations as the album's sole vocalist sometimes make it hard going. I don't understand why Merritt doesn't utilise better vocalists; 'naive' singers like Shirley Simms and Dudley Klute on "69 Love Songs" transformed good songs into minor classics.
Some may find it regressive, but the sounds on "Eternal Youth" are far more textured and polished than anything Merritt creates with Magnetic Fields. Obviously he's committed to the art of the 3 minute pop song, but I keep hoping Merritt will expand his musical horizons.

Most of Stephin Merrit's work to this point has been backed to very catchy, tightly cohesive tunes, with simple and easy-to-remember synth-pop tunes. This album is a departure from that trend... Much like the Magnetic Fields' album "Distant Plastic Trees", the lyrics are layered over a background that sounds like the inside of a wet cave, yet somehow reminds one of the Jetsons cartoon as well. In that respect, this CD was a stunning improvement on what started in "Distant Plastic Trees." It is pretty good, but not in the direction I wanted to go. You served me Italian when I wanted Mexican....

I hate to say it, but I was a bit underwhelmed by this effort. Though there are a few lovely tracks on this one, (No River, Smash the Beauty Machine and From a Distant Star in particular) I found myself feeling like the vulnerability and charm of much of Merritt's other work just wasn't there. Instead it sort of felt for the most part like a creepy excursion into a self-indulgent, over-produced, meanderfest. This may sound a bit harsh, but when Stephin is on, no one can touch him so it's a little disappointing when he's not on. And for the most part, on this album, he's not on (mostly).

When I first got this record I was very dissappointed -- not at all what I expected. I shelved it for over 2 years. For some reason I pulled it out again, presumabally because I had gotten in to Holiday era Magnetic Fields and was aching for more. Anyway, I started to like some of the songs. "Losing Your Affection" did not affect me at first. I thought is sounded simple, little did I realize that is the charm...
Soon other songs tunes started to seep into my brain. After a month or two I finally admitted I did, in fact, enjoy the songs, but maybe not the whole thing. Eventually it became very clear that I listened to the thing twice a day. So, well, I guess it could be an amazing gem of an album. Another month passed, it became the most played in my itunes (and I had 5 stars attached to all the actual songs, but not the interludes). So I checked 5 stars for those interludes that I haden't really noticed and came to realize that Eternal Youth is just as important of a Stephin Merrit album as the next (or better, "Smash the Beauty Machine" is a perfect song). However, if you are expecting Magnetic Fields, take note, this one is titled "Future Bible Heroes" hense the departure in aesthetic.

Do you like 80's synth music? Do you like short, cranky gay men with bitingly brilliant lyrical streaks? Then you should check out Future Bible Heroes. Future Bible Heroes is the moniker used by Christopher Ewen (Figures On A Beach), Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields, among others) and Claudia Gonson (Magnetic Fields). With Ewen providing the music, Merritt writing the lyrics and Gonson's simple yet likable voice bringing it all together, you have synthy music that works specifically because the lyrics are so, well... bitter and funny at the same time. Although Merritt doesn't add his deep baritone on this album, he does sing some of the songs live and on the previous work of the band. Quite an enjoyable listen, unless synthesizers give you bad dreams about hair mousse, leg warmers and parachute pants.

Yes, this album is sadly deprived of Stephin Merrit's excellent vocals. However, he will be doing all the vocals on the upcoming Magnetic Fields album, being released by Nonesuch. Claudia Gonson's vocals however filled in well. "I'm a Vampire" is perfect synth-pop, cognizant of its campiness, and Stephin's lyrics capture that quality. "Losing Your Affection," "Kiss Me Only With Your Eyes," and "The World is a Disco Ball" are also very good. It strays a ways off from what we've expected from this Merrit side project, and it is not as catchy as the excellent Memories of Love, but this album is beautiful and interesting. And, if this album fails to please you, by all means be prepared for the next Magnetic Fields album. Stephin Merrit has not yet failed to deliver a winner.

Okay all you Buffyheads, if you liked anything you ever heard by Steve Merritt and friends, you'll find this witty, sometimes poignant, unexpectedly tuneful song collection a CD you'll play more and more as time goes by. I know I have.

It's not all about vampires, but many songs are, and most of the rest touch upon time passing, death looming, and, of course, love. Like a lot of Lou Reed, sometimes these songs are as musically sweet as ABBA, and yet they're edgy, sometimes dark, and mordant. "Losing Your Affection" still has the power to make me smile after two years of regular play. But behind the exuberant word play, the underlying bittersweet sentiment remains true for anyone who has ever been deeply in love and had it returned. "Thousand Lovers in a Day" just seemed perverse on first hearing. On rehearing, it became a mournful and defiant response to the recognition that youth is rushing by way faster than we want. One or two tracks remain a bit weak, but for me (an admitted Merrittmaniac and Buffybrain) this CD remains one that sometimes I just have to play right-this-minute.

This being the first Future Bible Heroes CD I've purchased (my first purchase of Merritt's that wasn't by his beloved Magnetic Fields), I have to say I'm not all that impressed.

"Losing Your Affection" just seemed to be a dull pop song that had the same noise throughout all of its four and a half minutes. "Doris Daytheearthstoodstill" and "I'm A Vampire" were probably the only two songs that really stuck with me. I'd actually give the album five stars if I were just looking at "I'm A Vampire", which is one of Merritt's best pop songs. But it's not one song that makes an album, and sadly, the album didn't have much gas left after that. "Find An Open Window" had good lyrics, but awful music.

"Eternal Youth" ends with "The World Is A Disco Ball", which is an okay song, but it's just not enough.

And as for Claudia Gonson being the vocalist on all the songs... I'm not complaining. She has a wonderful voice, but the music in this album is what ruins it. I do hope the next Future Bible Heroes album has Claudia Gonson on all the songs- just with better music.