Customer Reviews

Psychology

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

 

 

Chris Staples keeps up the quality with his new band, Discover America. The sound is closer his solo album, Blackest Hair, Bluest Eyes, than to his previous band, twothirtyeight. Fans of twothirtyeight should definitely check out both the solo album and this (which moves even further to the "indie" side of indie rock than twothirtyeight, though with more rock than the solo album).

The standout tracks are "From the 100th Floor," "Green Eyes" and "The Halves That Make Us Whole," but the whole album is solid.

I can't praise Psychology as quite highly as the transcendently awesome You Should Be Living, but it's fresh and well-produced and original and exciting and beautiful and the lyrics, as always with Mr. Staples, have so many snatches of brilliance that even the artsy poet types should be satisfied.

This has to be one of the best albums of 2005. Each track has clearly been written with gteat detail and clarity. This should be on the radio across america!

I picked this album up on a whim noticing the twothirtyeight affiliation. It's a very fresh, vibrant album that has a lot of fun. Highly recommended if you like cool original rock.
Great job

For those of you who don't already know, Discover America is not truly a band, but a "solo" artist named Chris Staples. I've never heard any other albums featuring Staples, solo or true band, but I like this one. I'm certainly not going to say it's the greatest album I've ever heard (because as you'll see, it's far from it), but it's not the worst either. The album was released on an indie label, and the sound on it is very indie indeed; that is, it doesn't sound like it was recorded on the "highest-end" equipment available. But that's not to say that the sound quality is bad; it's really pretty good. The melodies are very catchy, in most places, anyway. The musicianship is very good. I love the "techno" sound of "Green Eyes" and that guitar riff on "1986"! However, the lyrics aren't all that impressive, at least not to me. They're pretty clever and/or sort of funny in places (especially on "Stark Honesty"), but they're kind of "drab" in too many other places (especially on "From The 100th Floor" and "Everything Changes"). There are also places where I can't figure out what they're supposed to mean, if they're supposed to mean anything. For example, from "Shiny Teeth": "At last, come down, scoop up your baby bird." Say what?? Normally I don't mind strange-sounding lyrics, but that's a bit too strange even for me. Chris Staples' voice isn't the best, either, but I've heard other artists whose voices make his seem to shine by comparison. The musicianship and the catchiness of most of the music on the album nets the album three stars from me. I would probably have given the album four if not five stars if the lyrics had been better, and if Staples had a better voice (or at least one or the other).

I was reluctant to purchase this cd after hearing some negative reviews. Then I heard one of their songs (Green Eyes) on a Tooth and Nail Sampler and my curiosity got the best of me. I searched for them on iTunes to hear a bit of what they sounded like. They're unique, mellow, but all their songs are different. I love that. Alas, my wallet is a few bucks short but my smile is slightly bigger.

Chris Staples is my favorite artist to date and though he's no longer with Twothirtyeight he's still puttin' it down. Personally "Green Eyes" and "Halves That Make Us Whole" have to be the best songs on the album. "Call It In The Air" is the A-side of "Psychology" while the rest have the 'Heart on his sleeve' feel. Overall I would say the entire album is a great listen from begining to end. Now all I need is a show date here in Seattle.

As my headline says, the music really is excellent, BUT -

someone please tell the kid to not sing any more!
UGH! He sounds like he's crying out for help (which I think he is). When the dude should be wailing, he croons and tries to pass his dull voice as cuteness, and comes off completely uncomplementary to some of the tunes.

Don't get me wrong - the music is beautiful, catchy, and can stand on their own without the singing, it's that good. But the singing let me down.......