Customer Reviews

Watch Me Disappear

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

 

 

Creating music that appeals to a larger audience does not necessarily mean that one has to sell out. Augie March has shown how to do that with fourth album: "Watch Me Disappear". The songs are simpler, and more accessible to a larger number of listeners, but though this album is the closest thing to pop that they have done, it would be a mistake to think of it as pop music. Instead it is a blend of folk-rock and progressive with poetic lyrics reminiscent of the greatest songwriters.

The album opens with the title track "Watch Me Disappear", which is also the longest of the pieces on the album. This is followed by the playful "Pennywhistle". "Becoming Bryn" is next and another very good piece. "City of Rescue" is a very different feeling song in terms of sound. "Farmer's Son" moves to a much more standard rock sound.

"Mugged by the Mob" is an unusual song, sung from the point of view of a man facing his own death which is to be a public spectacle. "The Slant" is an acoustic number which has a similar theme as "Mugged by the Mob", with the singer discussing his upcoming hanging in Hobart. "The Glenorchy Bunyip" is another song with a base in Tasmania, but with an entirely different feel as the lyrics have more of a fantasy theme. "Dogsday" is once again a much quieter peace, but with an underlying uneasiness in the lyric. "Lupus" is a more upbeat song, with a good rhythm. "The Devil in Me" in some ways is the theme of the entire album, a slower piece which sums up the album.

As with their other albums, Glenn Richards lyrics are a highlight of this Augie March album. That isn't a criticism of the music which is very good as well, but it is the lyrics which really elevate it and make it unique. The group consists of Glenn Richards (vocals, guitar, keys), Edmondo Ammendola (bass guitar), Adam Donovan (guitar, keys), Kiernan Box (keyboards, harmonica), and David Williams (drums, percussion).

I really like this album,I'm a fan but I didn't like so much the last album Moo Your bloody choir, except for a couple of songs, but this record took back what I want to hear from this Australian Band

Amazingly Augie March's Latest installment "Watch Me Disappear" released at the end of 2008 still has not seen a proper release in the States. Most certainly a band that deserves a universal audience outside of their native home of Australia and with "WMD" have created a masterpiece that will endure well into the future. Their only drawback in reaching a wider audience is that they command your attention to lyrical content and musical accompaniment. In a world of 15 second sound snippets and mp3 sampling, Augie March step outside mainstream culture and demand the attention they so willingly deserve.
While "WMD" never ventures far from past works, it advances on what this band does best, writing creative and deeply expressive musical content that brings new meaning with each playback.
Here's hoping that some domestic label will figure out those secrets that appeal to so many fans and spread the word.

2 1/2


AM still have the ability to craft a more than serviceable pop-rock song, though have seemingly abandoned the will to compose the kind of memorable fare that got them recognized initially.