Customer Reviews

Separation Anxieties

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

 

 

I love this album. The imaginative songwriting and thoughtful lyrics make it realy worthwhile. However, for those of you who were thrown by the 1 out of 5 star review, notice that none of the other, extreemly positive, reviews are from MN. In fact i heard from them when i was in Oxford, OH where the band started. They were also on the "Orange County" soundtrack, the one with Jack Black. Whatever, if you like punk/electronic/rock this is a great choice.

This CD is fantastic. I've had it for about a year and a half and I still can't believe it never took off. I really believe it may be one of the best albums ever recorded. Certainly it's one of the best that went undiscovered.

While I appreciated, but never loved his solo work, Todd Rundgren's production here is genius. This is pure pop - a beautiful mix of early Weezer, XTC, Thomas Dolby and Prefab Sprout. Check out Kaboom, Radioaction, Marionette, You Gotta Go, Everybody and Repeat. The production and mixing are flawless.

Found the album by accident and listen to it continously since the first day. "Radioaction" and "Everybody" come with overwhelming harmonies, "Kaboom" sounds like four songs in one and "Glad that It's Over" is simply wrong - how could they put this title at the end of the album? Though I didn't actually love Todd's own efforts, this time he did it again. 12 rods is a perfect combination of the musical creativity of "Prefab Sprout" and the genius of tr-i. Buy it.

Every few years, a recording comes along that I instantly become addicted to and the 12 Rods record, Seperation Anxieties is the most current. I bought this title when it was released in July 2000 and I'm still listening to it a few times a week. Seperation Axieties, produced by Todd Rundgren, harkens back to those power pop/punk sounds of the eighties(think XTC, Police, The Replacements etc.), but unlike most bands today, they don't mine that era of music for the vintage synth sounds. What they do take from the eighties are the catchy melodic hooks, tight songwriting a blend of synth and guitars. Mr. Rundgren's production is excellent, as he does something similar to what he did with XTC on Skylarking. He has taken the songs and made them into a cohesive collection, polishing all the rough spots as he finds something that sonically links all the tunes. Ryan Olcott's songwriting is key to this record. The melodic hooks in songs like Everybody, Repeat and Your Secret's Safe are nothing short of addictive. The lyrics are self reflective but he never takes himself too seriously. Anyway, I could go on, but I'll stop myself. If you're one of those pretentious people who think everything needs to aggressive, atonal or cutting edge, then forget about this record. If not you should buy this CD!! I can only hope that the 12 Rods get some well deserved media attention.

Cheers!

A truly brilliant album, morphing an obviously talented and tight trio with Todd Rundgren's most imaginative production since XTC's "Skylarking" and the (little heard, Japanese import) Hiroshi Takano CD "Awakening".

Quirky and memorable... unlike anything else you'll hear this year.

The most quickly evolving band that I've ever come across is 12Rods. They are so advanced in their musical ability, and don't come short at all in showing the world what they can do. If you haven't experienced this band yet, do so by purchasing "Separation Anxieties," an amazing showcase of their talents.

Theses dudes are local too me which is real cool.this album is "poppier" than split personalities (great album) but its my favorite rods album plus one of my all time platnium classic double deluxe super special albums series. I'm sorry, thats ridiculious, but in all seriousness, this albums has so many different sounds and grooves and moods that its difficult to describe.Plus (...)they can go REAL BIG and moody which I dig big time...the singer has a style all his own so i can't really compare him to any other artist except to say he captures all the different musical moods with vocal perfection and his writing is totally original. Although i am a monster fan of their music i would not let them take me sexually.That I will not do.

First off, I must agree with "A Customer" who titled his review "Chord-change and melody geeks unite". That's exactly what hit me when I heard this CD for the first time. The music takes all sorts of twists and turns but beautiful chord changes keep popping up all the way through. I wonder what part Todd Rundgren had in shaping this record but regardless, everybody involved did a great job. This CD is a lost gem.

I have recently entered into the world known as SEPARATION ANXIETIES,and I don't want to leave. 12 RODS is only a three-piece,you have to remember this when listening to this album. This album is so diverse in sound you almost wonder if the same band is making all these great songs. Forget all the comparisons you hear being made to RADIOHEAD,these guys are on there own planet. I didn't really like SA when i first got it,but I always give new cd's a fair number of rotations before I pass judgement onto it. SA has really grown on me and become one of those cd's you have to listen to atleast once every single day. The only reason I gave this album 4 stars instead of 5 is because the album is all over the place musically speaking,but in a good way. You have your quiet moments and then out of nowhere you are blasted with loudness. This is truly a solid album,back to front, front to back,you will not be disappointed.

12RODS is the most original band I've heard in the past 10 years. So many strong songs on "Separation Anxieties", it's hard to single any one out. Incredible they were able to follow "Split Personalities" with something even better. Thank God I live in Minneapolis where I can catch these guys live.