Customer Reviews

I Was Raised on Matthew Mark Luke & Laura

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3 star:		(1)
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I have to post this in response the only other reviewer, who seems to consider this album's dynamic fluctuations a flaw. Who seems to have given this album only 3 stars because it is too ambitious. I purchased this a few weeks ago and it has not left my auto's cd player for more than ten minutes. If every album that has come out lately has bored you, then this one is for you. "You were too old for me," "We made our way, we amtrakked," and "Citizen's Army Uniform" are all mini rock opera suites within themselves and would be worth the album's price on their own. But the whole thing is great all the way through.

Since when is ambition to be considered a detriment?

I like PAS/CAL. A lot. I've followed them through all of their EPs, and there was a long PAS/CAL drought between their third EP and this, their first LP. But the wait was well worth it. IWROMMLL was so meticulously crafted, so detailed, that you're bound to find something new and delightful in each subsequent listen. All twelve tracks are outstanding, but "Cherry Tree" is truly the gem of the album. And every time I listen to "We Made Our Way, We Amtrakked," I wish it would never end.

IWROMMLL is filled to the brim with music that's.. well.. musical. PAS/CAL really knows how to make a full, dynamic sound that's unpredictable but never out of place, not to mention the subtle themes, unique emotions, and intriguing characters found within PAS/CAL's clever lyrics. I can't get enough of it!

Power pop. Britpop. ELO. You've heard this kind of thing before. PAS/CAL knows it. So how do they distinguish themselves? By packing as many stops, starts, left turns, hooks, and instruments into the 51 minutes of IWROMML&L as is humanly possible. It's all very impressive. And arch. And a bit crass. PAS/CAL is smart, and they want you to know it. Well, message received--loud and clear.

It's not hard to see how this record took seven years to make. Finishing such a sprawling, intricate, opulently arranged opus is a task that probably would have driven a less, uh, driven band to insanity, a breakup, or both. In a sense, this album is perfect. Or would that be too perfect? Regardless, the fact that this thing was even released is an accomplishment worth lauding in and of itself.

But how listenable is it? That depends on your threshold for sugar. If you get a little fatigued seven or eight songs into a New Pornographers record, you might want to pass on this one. Taken in two- or three-song bursts, IWROMML&L is astonishing in its songcraft and variety. Taken as a whole, it all becomes a little much.

Still, it's hard to not be impressed by the jaunty Stereolab-but-catchier swing of the three-part "Suite Cherry" and the intricate piano-and-harmony duel of "The Truth Behind All the Vogues She Sold." It's thrilling stuff. The breeziest thing here, "Summer is Almost Here," is also one of the shortest. At 3:40, it has all the characteristics of a classic pop song. But it's also an anomaly. Many of the songs careen past the five-minute mark in their schizophrenic grandeur.

In reality, there are at least three albums worth of ideas crammed into this record. Maybe frontman and principal songwriter Casimer Pascal figures he has to be flashy to stand out, and maybe writing perfectly tight three-minute pop songs isn't the way to do that. Or maybe he figures this is his last shot to make an album-length statement. Who wants to spend another seven years in the studio? It's probably best to get all those ideas (and there truly are many great ones here) out now. I can't blame him. (And my hat's off to him.)