Customer Reviews

Odyssey

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved the first album when it first came out... But then the whole electroclash thing got pretty stale pretty fast. I credit Fischerspooner for being one of the forerunners of the genre, but I was very relieved when I heard this album would be a pretty big departure. I was even happier when I bought the album and listened to it straight through. Though many signature Fischerspooner sounds remain, these guys have definitely moved out of the electroCLASH genre and into the electroPOP arena. Most of the tracks have semi-standard structures and there are guitars aplenty. There are some obvious comparisons to be made here: "Just Let Go" to The Faint, "Never Win" to Pink Floyd, "A Kick In the Teeth" to The Postal Service, "Ritz 107" to AIR, and "All We Are" to Alan Parsons (and is that the bassline of Duran Duran's "Girls On Film" I hear in "We Need a War"?). There are a few tracks that are inferior to the others ("Everything To Gain," "Wednesday," "Ritz 107," and the final track), but overall this is an incredible album. It's tough to pick favorites at this point, but right now "Cloud," "Never Win," "A Kick In the Teeth," "We Need a War," and "Happy" are topping my list. Highly recommended to every fan of electropop and/or The Postal Service.

I was never a fan of electroclash - too old, too jaded, alternately too indebted and too disgusted by early '80s synthpop.

I didn't care for #1 all that much - I bought it out of curiosity (as a Wire fan who wanted to hear "The 15th") after its 3rd (??) release, sometime in 2003, when the fad had just hit American shores but hipsters were already long done with the record.

I got this right away back in the spring of 2005 because I thought it might justify the fact that I bought the first one. I'd watched the video for "Just Let Go" on iTunes a few times and found it... okay.

Somewhere along the line, though, this album BLEW MY MIND. All those people who are saying this one grows on you are the real deal. Odyssey doesn't simply prove that Fischerspooner are more than a fad, it proves that they are simply brilliant. Brilliant at what they do, and brilliant at navigating pop culture.

Start with "Never Win." A great pop song and a great dance song with deceptively simplistic lyrics and a layered coda that will knock you flat on the floor. Move on to "Get Confused" (which sounds almost alien, like Mirwais's first work with Madonna) and the stunning percussion in "Everything to Gain." By the time you realize the awesome thematic connection and musical congruity of "All We Are" and the trippy Boredoms cover at the end of the record, you will be questioning what was so great about "Emerge" in the first place.

Fischerspooner - so hip, so memorable, and so ultimately necessary. This is the closest thing the U.S. has to the ironic, intelligent, world-conquering Pet Shop Boys.

(i'm not a kid i just didn't feel like logging in)
I have to comment on this album since I was anticipating it so highly. #1 was a great but flawed record, and I thought this one would patch some of the holes. It does, in a sense, but this is clearly a genre change for the band, and it may leave some fans of #1 underwhelmed. The at times harsh basslines and in-focus drums that characterized the first album have been replaced by a pop sensibility, which produces songs that are catchy but to me not as compelling. Another point of disagreement I have with the album is the overly concrete lyrics - "We Need A War" is the most egregious example of this. The first album used its vocals more sparsely but to me, also more artistically. And although the introduction of guitar is not bad, its not used nearly as effectively as the keyboards, which are definitely still the band's strong point. What I'm trying to get at is that this is a good album, but it isn't like #1 at all in the mood it evokes or the style it uses. Approach it on its own terms and you'll almost definitely like it, just don't think of it as being in the same genre as #1.

Fischerspooner rocked in 2001 with their #1 release which made 80's new wave/synth pop hip again based on the sole strength of Emerge and The #15.

In 2005, Fischerspooner capitalized on their assets and conjured an amazing album which relied less on new wave/synth pop but more on their personal creations of electronica dance rock. The superior Just Let Go picked up where #1 left off and resulted in a stunning anthem-like track. Cloud, co-produced with the famed Mirwais Ahmadzai works equally well with a familiar satrt-stop beginning, retro-electronic and a dream-like chorus. Other winners include the sexy Get Confused and Emerge Part 2, A Kick In The Teeth.

This is definitely a great electronic/dance album not to be missed.

This album is a nice surprise in the world of electropop. It's fresh and inventive, and damn addictive!! I haven't stopped listening to it yet. From the beginning, you feel compelled to keep listening because you just want to hear what range of electronic resonance comes next.

Production-wise, it's markedly different from the previous album, #1. It's much friendlier to the ears, but doesn't lose the magic that #1 had. There's even a song or two that kinda sounds like "Emerge", but then becomes something radically different. The beats are crisper and sharper than the last outing, thanks in large part to producer Mirwais (most famous for producing Madonna's albums Music and American Life, and who is now currently producing her next one too). He only appears in 3 or 4 tracks but his influence is heard throughout the entire record, which is reminiscent of his solo album Production. It also is reminiscent of Depeche Mode from the Vince Clarke era (Speak and Spell album).

"Just Let Go" is good as a first single, but the real winner I think is "Never Win". It's groovy and utterly catchy. "Ritz 107" is a good softer track I like and "All We Are" is the perfect closing song before the quasi-instrumental sound explosion that is "Boredoms" (also called "O"). Fischerspooner is definitely looking to be a big name in music, just like The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Air before them. Odyssey is a spectacular example of that. Check this one out!

I just can't get enough of this disc! Normally, I consider a CD good if it has at least 3 tracks I enjoy. This is one of the few discs in my collection to which I listen virtually straight-through! With the exception of "O", all the songs on here are very catchy!

The production value is quite good (for the style, that is - it's pretty heavily processed, throughout) and most of the tracks have a very solid beat. If you're not turned off by something that's more pop/rock than electronica, you should definitely check this out!

Okay, so the first CD was alright. I really didn't like anything besides "Emerge".

Now this one comes around, and I'm like. "Hmmmm....I really liked that Emerge song...let's see."

So I listen to "Just Let Go". I like it. I decide to buy the CD because the video for the song was pretty neat.

Well I'm very glad I did.

The music is very good. Much more polished than the first album. They seem to have gotten away from trying to be weird "electro/weird/bleep/stuff" and got more into making actual music with lyrics and structure, and I have to say. That was for the better.

I found myself getting lost in just listening to the CD. I didn't even realize the CD had ended and gone on again. That's how good and relaxing this stuff is. It's great music.

My favorite track probably has to be "Everything to Gain". The song really shows off the talent of these musicians. Great buildup, the chorus is catchy, and they add in enough rock elements so that you're just like "Yay!".

Anyway, a great improvement over their first album.

This has to be one of the greatest albums i have ever heard. It's so different and so good, I love how they have that techno 80's sound with modern alternative mixed with that pop/rock it's amazing, the album is amazing. I love all the songs, they're awesome, you should definitely get this cd, a highly recommended pick

Fischerspooner's "#1" was one hell of an album. That is, from a musically groundbreaking standpoint. It was eerie, bizarre, and gave the middle finger to song structure. However, a little of that goes a long way and Fischerspooner were smart to realize that the album felt like it had no soul or statement. It felt more like an experiment. So they hit the studio and, after countless fights over 3 years of labor, "Odyssey" was born and so was Fischerspooner as a musical act. No longer were they tied to title of "entertainment experiment".

"Just Let Go" opens the album in style. Driving LIVE drums, a groovy baseline and familiar "#1"-esque vocals. The song slowly builds up as the first chorus starts and then, out of nowhere, guitars! And that's just the start.

Tracks like "Cloud", "Never Win", "A Kick in the Teeth", "Everything to Gain", the piano driven "All We Are", and uber-awesome "Happy" are incredible. There's also a little nod back to the days of "#1" with the simplistic yet epic "Down Up" (only on the limited edition disc, which I highly recommend you purchase).The rest of the tracks, although great, just don't reach that level of musical genius that the others do. Those brilliant tracks really show these guys really wanted to keep that "Fischerspooner sound" while progressing as artists and musicians. They took risks like adding live instruments, verse-chorus-verse structures and having songs that made at least SOME sense. It's strange, yet familiar. It's catchier, yet original. Their music now has a soul. A statement. A purpose.

Even though "#1" was more groundbreaking, "Odyssey" just flat-out tops it's predecessor in every other way. Yes, it's poppy, but, what was the last GOOD pop album you heard? "Thriller" probably. This is my vote for best album of 2005, hands-down. Buy it now and be glad you did.

I have no idea why 39 people gave this album 5 stars, but this is one of the worst electronic music albums I have ever heard. Horrible vocals on every song, this album makes me want to puke. The song "o" was particularly awful, taking you on an odyssey into an abyss. What the heck happened, #1 was a good album but this is a HUGE step back.