I Can't Go On, I'll Go On

The Broken West

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 23, 2007)
• Original Release Date: January 23, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B000LP6KOO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #135,474 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Their debut is a power-pop gem, shimmering and cool, with sharp edges and soaring melodies. The record deals with eternal themes of isolation, distance, and the longing for a center - a sense of place - in this topsy-turvy world. The Kinks, Big Star, and The Byrds, as well as more contemporary favorites like Spoon, Wilco, and Teenage Fanclub are certainly touchstones, but The Broken West's winning songs stand on their own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the silence you don't know, you must go on..., January 23, 2007

By	Guy "Rock Fan" (NYC) - See all my reviews

If you read any of the music blogs out there, you'll know that I'm not the first to say the following: This is a record that will likely stand as one of the great musical statements of its generation.

Not since the Strokes' debut has a band appeared with so cohesive and persuasive a document of the feelings of people their age. Superficially, there is very little to recommend a comparison to the Strokes. The Broken West feature harmonies, handclaps, keyboards and an expansive production palette. Yet, both are the standout bands of their relative cities and scenes (in case of the Broken West, the Silver Lake/Echo Park power pop scene), elevated above the rest of the pack due to the excellence of songs, production, lyrics, musicianship and no small amount of charisma.

Just as the Strokes have their own clear influences, it is not difficult to tell that the Broken West adore their Brian Wilson, ELO, George Harrison and Alex Chilton LPs. "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" isn't an exercise in replication, however. Instead, the band reforms these sounds of innocence and lost love. It weaves them into a blanket that it drapes over a dystopic vision of youth and young manhood in which we are guilty by association with the world into which we are born and we question if we'll ever find love enough to lose. For all its sunshine and "ooh-ooh-ooh"s, there's a tension to this music, a feeling that at any moment the curtain might be pulled back and we'll be forced to reckon with the fears we keep hidden from others and, mostly, ourselves.

The Broken West embrace and repurpose decades of power pop music, mix in their own ideas and outlook and emerge with a stunning and coruscating record of a life that is helpless but not without hope. I've been listening to this record in pieces since various songs began leaking onto the internet months ago. Today I was finally able to hear the album several times and, as catchy as the individual songs are, it really should be listened to as a complete thought.

This is a truly special album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, February 12, 2007

By	Christine G. Neikirk "portergrace" (norfolk, va USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Broken West is the first band in some time that provided a double-take moment when "panning for gold" on XMU. You have to sift through a lot of junk, but once in a while, you come across a real nugget like The Broken West's Brass Ring. Keep up the good work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intruiging debut album, March 1, 2008

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Let me state upfront that I had never heard of these guys until I heard them on WOXY, the internet-only indie-rock station (BAM!! The Future of Rock and Roll!) that plays the best music in the country, bar none. The Broken West have been around since 2004, releasing an EP along the way (under the "Brokedown" nomiker) and finally released this in early 2007.

"I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" (12 tracks, 44 min.) is the band's debut album, and brings an eclectic mix of pop-smart tunes with a great indie undertone. The opener "On the Bubble" sets the table beautifully, a short, hard-driven track with great harmonizing vocals and the band on all cylinders. "Shiftee" is one of the few pensive tunes, but it works great. My favorite tune on the album is "You Can Build an Island", which gives us the Byrds-sound updated for the 21st century, just beautiful. There really is no weak moment on this set, just check out "Slow" towards the end, with an urgency that just grabs you. The closer "Like a Light" summarizes the album just perfectly.

I happen to catch the Broken West in concert at the Monolith Festival (at the Red Rocks near Denver) last September, and they put on a great set. These guys are on to something. Meanwhile "I Can't Go on, I'll Go On" is a great album. Highly recommended!