Happy Hollow [ENHANCED]

Cursive

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 22, 2006)
• Original Release Date: August 22, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Saddle Creek
• ASIN: B000GGSMA8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,566 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
After more than a year's hiatus, Cursive's reemergence finds the freshly reconstituted quartet as self-assured and assertive as ever. And rather than retread familiar artistic ground for which they've accrued accolades by the vanload, Cursive has unfurled their most adventurous and accomplished work to date, Happy Hollow. Happy Hollow is an expansion of Cursive's trademark discordant swell: dissonant yet distinctively melodic guitar sounds and frontman Kasher's ever-cathartic yowl mesh and clash with horns, piano, accordion and other various instrumentation. The new songs are marked by a new bounce, a buoyant strut and a recognition that hey... this is fun.Still informed by a wise, road-tested sense of dynamics, the songs groove, rock and dart with brash swagger, interspersed with hints of gospel and skewed blues. The rhythm section, heavier, tighter, and more propulsive than ever, drives the songs forward while horns careen over interweaving guitars and dueling! vocals. Eschewing the stock-in-trade relationship lyrics of recent records for a broader scope, Happy Hollow explores and dissects such themes as shattered American dreams, small-town malaise and religious hypocrisy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Cursive Masterpiece!, August 22, 2006

By	Cale E. Reneau "audiooverflow.com" (Conroe, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Leave it to Cursive to always find something to be angry about. Since the band's inception, they have always had a taste for putting people in their places, culminating with their 2003 modern rock masterpiece, "The Ugly Organ." As one familiar with Cursive would undoubtedly anticipate, "Happy Hollow" picks up this trend and runs with it, finding new targets for Tim Kasher's biting lyrics along the way. Though arguably less angry this time around, Kasher's undeniable ability to craft targeted tongue-in-cheek attacks on his victim of choice maintains its role as one of this band's most-admirable traits. This time around, Kasher largely places the ex-wives and ex-lovers aside, focusing much of his lyrically demeaning material on the Catholic church, war, and America.

From just the opening note of the lead-off track, "Opening the Hymnal/Babies," one should easily identify a stark contrast between "Happy Hollow" and its predecessor: horns. Yes, as it turns out, Cursive has lost its cello player between albums and decided to fill that void with some intense hornage (my own word, but it's fitting). It's a tough loss for Cursive fans like myself who recognize the fact that the cello in "The Ugly Organ" practically made the album as great as it was. However, despite this loss, Cursive still manages to play their hearts out, quite possibly out-rocking "The Ugly Organ" in the process. That being said, "Babies" (the non-intro part of the opening-track) fully utilizes the horns in such a way that it will undoubtedly excite the listener, forcing them to devote all attention to what is being heard.

The next track, "Dorothy at Forty," is the band's first single from the album, and for good reason. If any one song captures the focus and passion of the album, its this one, portraying a head-on collision between the American dream and reality while alluding to "The Wizard of Oz." One can practically feel Kasher's passion as he proclaims, "Dreams are all you have. Dreams have held you back. Dreamers never live, only dream of it." The loss of the American dream is the first of several themes presented in this album. Even the artwork and album title portray a picturesque, romanticized America, rather than reality. It's a fine point, and one that will be explored further in the album.

The next song on the album, "Big Bang," is the first direct attack on the Catholic church, in this case, regarding the creation/evolution debate. Lines like "There was this big bang once but the clergyman doesn't agree" are sure to ruffle a few feathers, while the line "It don't jive with Adam and Eve, idyllic garden, some talking snake giving apples away. What would that snake say if he could only see us today?" is sure to shut a few of those opponents up. Sure, the lyrics in this song can be a bit unnerving to a few people, but the music itself is explosive! The new horns are at their finest on this song as they render practically every other instrument in the song negligible. This anti-religious theme can be seen elsewhere on the album, primarily in "Bad Sects" and the undeniably creepy "At Conception," which tells the tale of a priest who counsels a troublesome young girl. Don't be surprised if your skin crawls as Kasher nonchalantly sings "What happens in confession stays in the confessional." Clearly there's some animosity here, but its the passion derived from this animosity that separates the album and the band from so many of its contemporaries.

Another subject that is brought up during the course of the album is war. While thoughts like "Oh not another one," "It's getting old," or "Musicians are largely uneducated people who have never been in the military and therefore should not be making bold statements on a subject on which they know little or nothing about" may fill your head with just the mention of a song against war, relax. Of course, Cursive isn't about to sing the Bush administration's praises, but they never call any politicians out. Instead they remain focused on Americans, lost in the imaginary American dream. "Flag and Family" tells the story of a young man who feels pressure to join the military from his town, his family, and his girlfriend. Sure, he calls her family (and in all likelihood, anyone who shares their opinions) "bigots and fanatics," but a line like "When you're down on your knees are you praying for Holy War?" is full of such subtle greatness that its hard to write Kasher off as a narrow-minded, bleeding-heart liberal. Consider the fact that the band has its roots in Omaha, Nebraska, and the possibility that Kasher might have some insight on the small town citizens that he describes becomes somewhat authoritative.

It should come as no surprise to any Cursive fan that "Happy Hollow" is one heck of an album. Like its predecessor, the album is full of angst, passion, and musicality that help set it apart from so many other bands today. Though a bit longer than "The Ugly Organ," and arguably, more unfocused, this album is anything but unsatisfying. For anyone holding out for a new masterpiece from Cursive, wait no more!

Recommended for fans of Cursive and for anyone looking for inspiration on how to direct their anger in a non-violent, yet satisfying manner.

Key Tracks:
1. "Dorothy at Forty"
2. "Big Bang"
3. "Flag and Family"
4. "At Conception"
5. "Bad Science"

4 out of 5 Stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An evolution?, October 11, 2006

By	Svipdag "jesus_rides_dragons" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

Cursive does it again, this album is another masterpiece. But it is not without its flaws. It would be a 5 out of 5 if compared to most other bands and their records, but when compared to Cursive's other work it doesn't do as well. Some "die-hard" Cursive fans (which I consider myself) find the album to be a dissapointing break from the older, shall we say, harshness that the previous releases have. Cursive's previous albums where the songs-about-relationships-love-and-lose-self-pity albums. The reason most of these stood out to me was Kasher's witty lyrics, his sarcasim was so well placed. On Happy Hollow he has moved from the love and lose standpoint to the criticism of Religion and the society around us. Now Kasher does these topics justice with his lyrics, much more than most any other band, but the subject has gotten trite. I know you are probably thinking "but singing about girls and ect.ect. is just as cliche...." but I really enjoyed Tim's perspective. This new album is just a witty renovation of the age-old "Church is corrupt, religion is bad, what have you.." argument. Some have said if you don't like the lyrics then you must be some brainwashed religious person (Oh no!) but this statement is totally ridiculous and hypocritical. To me the subject has gotten boring and I would have rather heard more of Tim's usual writing.

The change in the music style is great in my opinion. My favorite album is Domestica, but HH, The Ugly Organ, and Burst and Bloom have all been fantastic records that experiment with breaking away from the "traditional" Cursive sound. Happy Hollow has moved them further away from the old CDs soundwise, but is their most melodic and "catchy" album to date. I use these terms not in the "Hey Panic! at the Disco is catchy and melodic way" but in the "This sounds like Cursive's Fugazi-inspired post-hardcore but is layered with hooks and melody that make it so good without being to 'poppy'". All in all a more accessible record yet it still retains the essence of Cursive. I recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy Hollow made one happy lad outa' me., September 19, 2006

A Kid's Review

Note: I'm not 13, Amazon isn't letting me post my reviews normally.

I'm not going to rate this album based on LYRICS of a MUSICAL album, even though I do enjoy the lyrics very much.

First of all, Cursive has been a heavily progressing band, Happy Hollow being their most experimental album yet to be released. In HH, you'll be able to hear punk, jazz, blues, electronic rock, and just really anthemic music. This is the most pronounced Cursive album... it just begs to be played loud in your car. No longer is there a cellist, but instead to fill the former member's place, there are horns, lots of horns... and it sets the band in their own seclusion away from a lot of the other indie groups. Proving once more that Cursive is one of the most influencial bands of modern music. You get operatic songs such as At Conception with beautifully harmonizing backing vocals, to bombastic punk-outfit Flag and Family, to really jazzy styles like Retreat!.

Favorite tracks off Happy Hollow:

1. Bad Science (The Bible Belt Tightens)
2. So-So Gigolo (The Demons of Mary Magdalene)
3. Big Bang (The Treestump of Knowledge)
4. Dorothy Dreams of Tornadoes (Sodom Falls to Ashes)
5. Rise Up! Rise Up! (Hiding in Confessions)

Highly recommended.