Customer Reviews

This Delicate Thing We've Made (2 CDS)

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Darren Hayes, former multiplatinum-selling frontman for Aussie duo Savage Garden (Truly, Madly, Completely- The Best of Savage Garden), has come into his own on This Delicate Thing We've Made. It's been a whirlwind few years for Hayes: on his third solo album after Spin (2002) and The Tension And The Spark (2005), Darren parted ways with Sony, started his own label Powdered Sugar, and married his partner Richard Cullen in a civil ceremony in London.

As one review rightly pointed out, if Hayes was still attached to Sony / Columbia, no megaconglomerate record company would have ever financed anything as ambitious and hard to categorize as This Delicate Thing We've Made. Spanning 25 tracks on 2 CDs, the album is all over the place sonically in a tribute to some of Darren's idols, including Prince, Michael Jackson, and Kate Bush, and the authentic retro vibe is courtesy of a 1983 Fairlight CMI syth. Darren's earlier collaborations with Robert Conley on Spin (Crush (1980 Me) and Tension and the Spark continue on TDTWM, along with Justin Shave as producer (Justin played keyboards on Darren's Big Night In tour).

Even though there is a unifying theme of time travel, Darren's bouncing off the sonic walls, from funk to electro to boy band to uniquely Darren. Unexpected samples (barking dogs, airplanes, horses) crop up in the middle of songs, and two songs (Conversations with God and Neverland) strongly remind me of Tori Amos-influenced Casey Stratton (Standing at the Edge), who shares the same soaring falsetto and sense of lyrical drama.

My main issue is the balance between uptempo flirtations with electronica (club hit Step Into the Light, Casey, Listen All You People, Me, Myself, and I) and slower ballads, which make up most of the second disc. I feel that TDTWM lacks the overall cohesiveness of Tension and the Spark, and I find myself skipping over a few of the tracks (the aforementioned Bombs Up In My Face and the dark, gritty Setting Sun). However, TDTWM grows on me with each successive listen. It's such a nuanced, complex work that multiple listens are required to do Darren's creative vision justice.

This special edition features deluxe packaging (suede clamshell box) with a double-sized booklet containing exclusive photos.

Kudos to Darren for the creative, pass-the-good-karma origami bird marketing that ties in with TDTWM's theme. He encourages fans to print an origami bird, write a wish or note (world peace, happiness, someone loves you, etc.), fold it, and leave it in a public place for others to find. If you find a bird, you can upload its location and a photo to neonbird dot com/something-wonderful

I've been anticipating the new music for months, and when I got it, I was not disappointed at all.

As usual, Darren is a lyrical genius who can touch your heart and soul with his words. The musical parts are very different on each song. Its not a typical pop album where each song sounds similar.

Each song is unique in its own way lyrically and musically. Alot of artists have songs that sound similar in terms of music and lyrics, but each of Darren's songs is not that way.

He was not afraid to explore the depths of his heart and soul during the writing process, and some of the songs remind me of his last cd "The Tension and The Spark" which was not an American release but should have been. But at the same time, there are many tracks that very positive and upbeat, and reflecting Darren's new found happiness both personally and professionally.

I recommend the following tracks as my personal favorites so far -
"Step Into The Light" - a track that has proven to be very danceable and there are great remixes for this track that will keep you on your feet

"Casey" - A very deep and personal track - It may be about Darren's sister and others in his life, but we all have someone who has filled the role of 'Casey' in this track in our lives..

"Bombs up in my face" - I compare this to "Affirmation" in a way with the statements in it but deeper and more angry in tone in some areas of the song.

"Me myself and I" - Very Prince-like, and great beat, and an excellent song to dance to, and it should be very remixable for a night in a club or a party too.

"A Conversation With God" - A deep and touching & personal track, and like the title says it is like you are having a conversation with the Higher Power Himself

"Who would Have Thought" and "On The Verge of Something Wonderful" - songs that will get you on your feet and dancing for sure - they did for me.

"The Only One", "Sing To Me", "Lucky Town" and "I Just Want You to Love Me" - Each of these are love and/or ballad type songs describing different kinds of love in life. For most of us, we can relate to at least 1 or more them during our lifetime.

The whole album is worth the purchase and the wait, especially for Darren's American fans who have been waiting over 5 years for music they can go online to get or purchase in a store, and they will still see the genius that is Darren Hayes (without the tagline of Savage Garden tied to his name).

There are some artists out there who churn out new albums every year with one or two catchy songs on them that they can put out to radio and rely on those to sell their product until next year when they do it all over again. The result is usually bland, forgettable music.

I really appreciate the work Darren Hayes has done with his latest album which I'm listening to right now. You can tell the time he took with each song and each came from inspiration. He's creative with his writing instead of basically saying the same thing in every song but in different ways.

I'm glad Darren chose to go independent this time. This allowed him to be as creative as he wanted and the results really paid off. The music here is just amazing. It's not like anything anybody else is doing which is so refreshing.

Darren shows some of his political views and his humor on this album which I just find fantastic! He is a great artist. I still listen to his previous album on a regular basis after all this time. And I can tell I'll be listening to this one just as much.

I can't really say enough about Mr. Hayes. The reviews above have pretty much said everything that needs to be said on the cd. It is above beyond the best album that i've bought not only this year but in a couple to be quite honest. I don't have a single track on "Delicate Thing We've Made" that i dont love and how the songs speak to you. I couldnt help but feel it on the one song "Bombs Up In My Face". Its very personable and speaks on a certain president. We know all about. I love how what they did with his voice on the song as well. There's no way i couldn't speak on this song with much admiration.

Normally you find when artists release 2cds one of the cds will be nice and the other so-so or some great songs mixed on one cd and some on the other cd. But with this release Darren bucks that trend something fierce. I've already seen the video for "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful". It's eye opening, artistic and just down right fun to watch from beginning to end. The song oh yeah that is on point as well. It makes you feel like no matter what's happening in your life. That your close to finding that something that you call wonderful in your life whatever that may be. It's yours. I could list my favorite tracks but then i would have to pick and choose. I love all the songs on the cd. I know people will be like that's not really possible. Trust me listen to this cd once and try not to do a repeat right after the last song on the 2nd cd "The Tuning of Violins" goes off. That's an excellent song in its own right with some fine violin playing going on while Darren sings his heart out on the song as usual.

I've loved each of his previous cds and didnt really think. It could top his last one...not that it needed to. I still would be feeling it regardless because i love his music and song writing abilities. But this cd bar none is one of the best out there from all that i've experienced (quite a bit). I doubt you'll listen to this and think otherwise...but find out for yourself just how much of an excellent release this is for real. Savage Garden was good...but Darren Hayes so much more to him than anyone could ever know. For some though provoking material check out "How To Build A Time Machine" you'll see exactly what i mean. Uptempo, mid-tempo or slow songs the cd has all of them and then some. This thing he's made is much more than delicate. It's a thing of wonder that folks should check out soon.

25 songs that give you a better understanding and a peek inside what makes Darren tick. He's obviously happier than ever with life and with this CD release. It comes out for everyone to see...very impressive!! Here's to the future and some fine music from a talented artist and songwriter.

My ears are very, very happy indeed.
The club-kid from 1980 that forever resides inside me
gyrated and danced with feet of ageless joy.
Lyrics of pure poetry fill a weary heart.
Melodies and harmonies twirl and rise up.
The world is a better place.

Going Indie had to be a frightening experience for Mr. Hayes. But one would never have a clue when listening to this extraordinary musical journey recorded on 2 disks and 25 tracks. Now being an artist fully in his own right, making music from the heart and soul as all singers/musicians should be blessed to do, Darren has crafted a sonic work of art that defies easy categorization. From the gradually intensifying notes of the first track, the song selections ebb and flow, stop and start, speed up, slow down, veer, twist and some even rise up as if heaven bound. While some reviewers have labeled this album "all over the place", it is. And BRAVO for it. Where some will criticize Darren's electronic vocal alterations on some tracks, this is what great artists do...they experiment. They grow. They change; they explore new ground, new methods to communicate.

If this album were a painting in a grand gallery, I would stand before it amazed, agog with envy. It's red where it should be and then that cool, peaceful blue...so perfect. And what's that? Green polka dots and pink stripes? Who would have thought they would work so well together? And look, transparent poetry fading into a neon glow that raises our social consciousness without us even being aware. Like a master's brushstroke, each song here is the artist's intent. They are parts of the whole, yet perfect on their own. A mélange that evolves and satisfies a multitude of senses. If I could, I would frame this album.

This is what the best of art does. It enhances our atmosphere. It makes our lives brighter, it inspires, educates, and challenges. And sometimes the purpose of art is simply to be beautiful. This Delicate Thing We've Made succeeds on so many levels.

Darren's vision for this record feels fully realized. I hope he is as proud as he should be.

I must also congratulate Mr. Hayes for the artistry of the packaging. With its velvety finish, the deluxe box set is a tactile delight. The typography and photography are quite brilliant. The attention to detail is simply amazing and so fitting for this epic undertaking.

I'm not going to assume that I know what Darren Hayes wanted us to feel with this release. But, after listening to all 25 tracks, I just have this feeling that everything is going to be OK. What could be better than that?

2 discs of musical brilliance and open exploration. Darren gives it his all on this yet allows himself a whole bunch of room for experimentation and exploration that really makes the journey very interesting and deep. I worry if this album doesn't get a whole lot of commercial success because it's so desserving. Thoughtful, authentic, and definitely delicate. The music scene out there is usually anything but. Do yourself a favor and listen to this one.

I'm a long-time fan of Darren Hayes (since the early Savage Garden days), and I admit that when I heard that he got married, I grew a little worried. After all, Darren's BRILLIANT last album, The Tension And The Spark, was sublimely steeped in isolation and melancholy. I was skeptical how someone with such a brilliant album like Tension And The Spark AND a new marriage was going to release something good this time around. I was fully prepared for lovey-dovey gooey schmaltz.

But let me tell you -- This Delicate Thing We've Made is an ASTOUNDING album. Darren Hayes is both a fantastic songwriter and performer. The melodies of the songs are superb -- Darren has always been able to write gorgeous, easily accessible tunes, and this time it's no different. The electronica instrumentation is highly innovative, complex, and lush. Like Tension And The Spark, the sound of this album continues to evolve and push the boundaries of electronic pop. It experiments with changes in melody and rhythm and progression, and at times sounds almost theatrical in scale. The retro 1980s elements of the music are added in a way that doesn't make this album sound OLD, but fresh and new. Musically, this album is not afraid to experiment, but it also doesn't lose its audience in the process.

But the best aspect of this album, for me, is how emotional and honest and human it is. I don't think Darren is the most poetic lyricist out there (some lines come across as cliche and clunky) but he is one of the most sincere. He sings candidly and straightforwardly about the human condition in the world today -- about pain, love, separation and happiness in a modern society that is pervaded by the media and materialism -- and the songs in here ring true to me because of his honesty. I think that right now we're used to pop/electronica songs that are filled with incomprehensible lyrics (they're "artistic") and watered down or detached subject matter, that when someone comes along who basically says: "Here are my thoughts and emotions," we become startled by the honesty of it all. Most of the negative reviews I've read online accuse Darren of being pretentious, but I don't sense pretentiousness at all -- Darren Hayes is an idealist and a dreamer, and in this album he is showing us an intimate glimpse into his mind.

I personally think this album is better than Tension And Spark (which I think is AMAZING) because it is much more varied in subject matter. Tension And Spark is what I go to when I'm feeling melancholy, but this album deals truthfully with joy as well. For instance, the song Who Would Have Thought deals with love finally being found after years of sadness, and each time I listen to it I am overcome with the song's sense of profound gratefulness.

The level of production and songwriting and personal commitment in this album is very apparent, and makes this one of the best pop albums in recent years, and one of the best of Darren's career. I'm very glad that Darren's able to take pop music in this much more emotional and complex direction, without giving up its immediate melodic appeal.

I don't know if there are enough adjectives in the English language to describe what a work of pure genius this CD is. Darren Hayes tells us a story over the course of two volumes. It is music that causes you to feel some kind of emotion: confusion, happiness, regret, anticipation, excitement. Everything that Darren Hayes puts out is different than the one before so it's unfair to say that this is his best work yet. Though, I do believe that it is his most personal from the words to the arrangements. Whether you are a fan from the beginning or just discovering his genius....this is a release that will stick with you through all the phases of your life that have already come and will come.

Darren Hayes has come a long way since his days in Savage Garden. The coolest thing is that I have got to grow up with Darren and his music and his songs always seem to serve as sign posts down the highway of my life. If you listened to Darren's last album "The Tension and The Spark" you know how personal and amazing that album was. How could he possibly top such a great album? Darren Hayes latest effort "This Delicate Thing We've Made" does just that. The album has a very electronic and retro fell to it. This album reminds me of the electronic sounds on Madonna's Ray of Light album especially the song "Listen All You People" with all of its electric bleeps. And not since Ray of Light have I heard such a unique and fresh twist on music that just breaths a new joy in to my love for music. Here in America our country sadly lacks good taste when it comes to good music and the radio stations seem to play the same old rap, r and b and other one hit wonders. When I listen to this CD it takes me to another world. When you listen to some of the love songs Darren takes you on this emotional journey few artists can take you to. It has also been said on the internet that "Darren seems inspired by, and certainly deserves to be regarded alongside, albums such as Kate Bush's 'Hounds of Love', Madonna's 'Ray of Light', U2's 'Achtung Baby', Prince's 'Love Sexy', Tears for Fears 'Seeds of Love' and Peter Gabriels 'So'. Certainly there are musical nods to those artists, and to others." The whole album is amazing but I do have a few favorites below. The entire album is great but below are my favorite songs.

"How to Build A Time Machine"
"Sun Is Always Blinding Me"
"Who Would Have Thought"
"Casey"
"Step Into The Light"
"The Only one"
"On The Verge Of Something Wonderful"
"Maybe"
"I Just Want You To Love Me"
"Words"
"Sing To Me"


Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Fear of Falling Under
2. Who Would Have Thought
3. Waking the Monster
4. How to Build a Time Machine
5. Casey
6. Step into the Light
7. Sing to Me
8. Conversation with God
9. Sun Is Always Blinding Me
10. Listen All You People
11. Only One
12. Bombs Up in My Face
13. Great Big Disconnect


Disc: 2
1. Future Holds a Lion's Heart
2. On the Verge of Something Wonderful
3. Neverland
4. Walk Away
5. Maybe
6. Me, Myself And (I)
7. Lucky Town
8. I Just Want You to Love Me
9. Setting Sun
10. Hundred Challenging Things a Boy Can Do
11. Words
12. Tuning of Violins

Darren Hayes This Delicate Thing We've Made is by far one of the years best albums. I only hope here in the U.S. they give this amazing album a chance on radio.

This Delicate Thing We've Made is Darren's third solo album, and is the first album he released as an independent artist. For this first independent release, Darren was ambitious and put out a double CD. On first listen, it feels like Darren was trying to put together a kind of "concept album" because several ideas (for example, time machines) show up in several of the songs. However, by the time you finish listening to both discs, you're left feeling that Darren is simply retreading the same ideas, and are left feeling as if you've been going in circles.

This is a lot to try to absorb in one listen. On the first disc, the songs average 4-5 minutes in length, and there are 13 tracks on it. The second disc, which contains 12 tracks, has songs that range between 3-4 minutes in length. While the first disc may have longer songs, it's actually the easier disc to listen to. The second disc focuses too much on midtempo and slow songs, which can make it a tedious listen.

Over, this is not a commerical album. Sonically, a lot of what is on here is not radio-friendly. Also, the albums feels like it's longer than it really needs to be. Honestly, I think half of the songs sound more like B-side material, and could easily have been left off. In fact, I think that if this album had been a single CD comprised of the strongest songs from this set, it would've been a great album.

This Delicate Thing We've Made had a lot of potential, but the final product ended up feeling rather overblown. This album would've been much stronger as a single disc.