Customer Reviews

Short Wave on a Cold Day

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

 

 

Stylistically, this album falls somewhere between Outer Space Is Just A Martini Away and Black Umbrella, with heavy leanings toward the Black Umbrella end of the spectrum. If you are a Black Umbrella fan, or a fan of any of the mellow and/or acoustic material on Recruited To Do Good Deeds For The Devil, then you'll love Short Wave On A Cold Day. If Songs For Insects and Mods Carve The Pig are your favorite Thought Industry albums, then you'll probably be disappointed. In other words, Short Wave On A Cold Day cannot be called "heavy" in any sense of the word. Thought Industry's days of playing chaotic, progressive art metal seem to be long over, however, Short Wave still manages to showcase the signature Thought Industry songwriting style. Vocalist and founding member (and sole original member) Brent Oberlin has put together a new line up for this album, and they are all very capable musicians. Numerous tracks on the album are in fact written by the new members: gutiarist Mike Roche, keyboardist/guitarist Jeff Borkowski, drummer Cam Taylor and bassist Mark Baldwin. Oberlin's lyrics, both in format and content, have returned to the pre-Black Umbrella style, presented almost as a stream-of-consciousness time/space travelogue. The music here is much more lush than the stripped down sounds on Black Umbrella, employing thick layers of synthesizers and rich multi-part vocal harmonies. For me, stand out tracks include Satan In The Gift Shop, Lovers In Flames, Alien and Pure and The Waitress in the Bar Orbiting Io.

Classic mixture of Black Umbrella pop-rock introspection with Radiohead, Flaming Lips and Rush-style prog leanings. Essential for anyone who enjoyed all of Thought Industry's previous albums including Black Umbrella enough to stay onboard once they dropped the metal element (a process that really started way back on Outer Space anyway). Black Umbrella might have had more songs that jumped out at you on first listen... this is more of a "big acheivement from beginning to end" type album, 16 great songs, 70+minutes. Ignore at your own risk if you're already an avid listener of earlier TI.

Thought Industry started off in the early 90's as a bizarre tech-metal band incorporating diverse non-metal influences. Their sound evolved over several releases and finally culminated on this 2001 release, their swansong, as a potent blend of alt-rock, indie, prog and a certain lingering intangible metal aesthetic. "Short Wave on a Cold Day" is a lush, cerebral, and diverse offering that is now quite hard to find. Their label, Metal Blade, apparently did not know how to market music like this and promptly deleted the album from their catalogue within a year of its release. It's a tragedy, because this album should have been huge. The band is now inactive, but has left us with a legacy of challenging and forward-thinking music.

"Short Wave on a Cold Day" is an album that should appeal to a broad cross-section of music afficianados. It's firmly within the alt-rock/indie vein; but it also has a certain metal aesthetic lingering that should appeal to the more open-minded fans of that genre. I think it's in the instrumental prowess displayed on this disc.

This album has a very cohesive sound and a consistancy of material throughout. The main adjective that comes to mind is "lush". It's one of those dreamy, beautiful albums that can really take you on a journey. Each song has a hook, yet is sufficiently challenging to prevent mass accessibility. It's truly an album you can sink your teeth into, and discover new layers of aural bliss upon each listen.

The songs are deceptively complex and display an instrumental proficiency uncommon to this type of music. The vocalist has a pleasantly light voice and is not shy about using falsetto. The guitar is quite textural, the bass quite thick and expansive, the drums providing shimmering cymbalscapes, and a myriad of electronics and keyboards softening the edges and creating dense layers of cloudmusic that goes on for miles. The lyrics are some sort of esoteric poetry. I feel watery, wintry, and airy when I listen to this album. It's a musical experience like no other.

Highlights include the oceanic, frosty "Tall Ships on the Rocks"; the acoustic lament of "Lovers in Flames" and the curiously dark "Hello, Murder".

Each Thought Industry album is drastically different, but each is fantastic. I give the highest recommendation to their entire catalogue.

Having been first introduced to Thought Industry during the Outer Space era...I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this album. And in fact, put off buying it for a few weeks, something i'd never done with umbrella or good deeds. Nevertheless i'm quite satisfied with this album, although it took quite a while to get used to. Brent, as always, writes his songs like what they are, poetry set to music. I greatly miss his classic "howl from hell" voice. But hey I can't say i'd be quite the fan of The Who that I am, if they had continued to milk the formula for "My generation". My best advice is to know what you're getting into with the album. If you're still a diehard fan of the powermetal T.I. just let this one slide. Even musicians grow up after all.

Overall this should (and will) be hailed as Thought Industry's crowning achievement. It skirts the edge of both their worlds, the manic insanity and stream of conscious lyricism of their first three records, as well as the simple arrangement beauty and stark, personally bitter prose of 1997's Black Umbrella. All the while maintaining that indescribable left-field space rock sound that Thought Industry has either pioneered or compiled (re: stolen) from so many different bands that it is all but impossible to generate a list of contemporaries.

The pinnacle point of the record comes about halfway through with "Lovers in Flames." Upon first inspection, a very simple acoustic track with the most scattered lyrics since "Blistered Text and Bleeding Pens" from '93's Songs For Insects. Subsequent listens expose rolling bass lines and nifty acoustic interplay that add immeasurable depth to terrifically simple chord progressions. Oberlin also tackles himself for the first time on the record, speaking of the "cancer reeds in his brain." In the song (and I guess in life) Brent is "okay, you know [he's] okay", so what does he do? He self-destructs with a petulant lover, strapping his "forehead to a landmine" and "run[ning] into a wall."

My favorite band has just released what might soon become my favorite record. Already the best of 2001.

DT

This CD marks an interesting sound that doesn't exist in music today. Some would argue that that's for a good reason. I would argue them and run if it came to blows. But nonetheless, I would argue it verbally for hours on end if given the chance (unless of course, I had something better to do). This band throws all the rules out the window and creates some of the most unique hard rock you will ever hear. I prefer their debut, "Songs For Insects" but this CD reiterates their dedication to the bizarre and gives a big "F You" to what is expected. God love 'em!