Customer Reviews

When Your Heartstrings Break

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I pop this scintillating disc in the stereo - quite frequently - and the first track begins to play. Something comes over me. I become a human rhythm machine. My brain actually shuts off, except for the part of my brain that makes me drum along with various writing implements to this amazing driving pop. I also try to sing along, but my brain can't combine melody and rhythm with anywhere near the skill that Beulah can.

It's true, the 60's influence is here: the lush orchestration, strummy guitars, production by Elephant 6's modern-day Brian Wilson, Robert Schneider. Yet somehow it all sounds fresh and new. Miles Kurosky's lyrics and delivery set Beulah apart from so many wanna-be pop bands. Even when his songs don't make much sense, his delivery is just so damned punchy and passionate I can't help but to sing along!

What I'm trying to say is, this album makes me act like a complete idiot for half an hour, and that's a wholesome and gratifying thing.

Beulah's 2nd album, when your heartstrings break, is probably their best album thus far. It's incredibly happy, fun and extremely well done. Beulah are definitely the best indie pop band going right now and everyone who has not checked them out should. Pick up all of they're albums while you're at it.

Upon first listen, this record immediately brought to mind The Apples In Stereo; in particular, their 1997 album "Tone Soul Evolution". This was not a good thing because A) It made Beulah's album sound somewhat derivitive and B) I didn't particularly care for "TSE". After giving "When Your Heartstrings Break" a few more listens however, I have become convinced that not only is this album very different from said Apples album, but also that Beulah is the best band the Elephant Six collective has to offer (I say "band" rather than "artist" because I feel Jeff Magnum aka Neutral Milk Hotel is the best thing going in music today). At any rate, this is an album that demands close attention and repeated listenings. Like last year's "The Soft Bulletin" by The Flaming Lips, there is a unifying tone to the album that can make all the songs sound the same at first. The extensive use of horns and various other kinds of high school marching band instrumentation, along with some Pavement style "sha-la-la-la-la"-ing initially gives the songs a decidedly sugary sweet sound. Give the album a chance to sink in though and these theatrics fade to the background and some suprisingly fantastic melodies take center stage. Highly reccomended to patient fans of indie-pop.

When Your Heartstrings Break truly is one of the finest, most complete recordings I own (and listen to ad naseum). I should stress the "most complete" descriptor not only because it's accurate, but also because it goes a long way towards describing why this album is so appealing on all counts. The music is layered, and each layer is dynamite. Repeated listens yield new sounds, new textures, and new feelings. While the lyrical content is, admittedly, somewhat uneven (although not excessively so), that trifle is more than made up for by the wonderful complexity of each track. In addition, the album fits together quite well; the songs seem to be "in order," and, accordingly, I enjoy listening to the entire album from front to back with no skipping (a trait I can associate with precious few other albums). Highlights are the wonderfully-titled "If We Can Land A Man On The Moon Surely I Can Win Your Heart," "Warmer," "Score From Augusta," and the near perfect "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand." This album is excellent on all counts, and is highly recommended.

I just got this today and just had to write about it. Literally sent chills down my spine! Much is made about the 60's influence on Elephant 6 bands but really it is above mere namechecking. The vocals sound as much like Robert Schneider of Apples in Stereo as they do Jesus and Mary Chain. And yeah toss in some Steve Malkmus while you're at it. Something I have heard mentioned is how great the guitars is in this stuff. It's like VU doing the Beatles! And now onto the strings and exotica which characterizes Elephant 6. So what seperates this from other orchestral flavors we've seen? It actually works! The extra instruments (from woodwinds to strings to those horns!) never destroy the immediacy of the music. So then we come to the lyrics! It is so good to see people writing good and imaginative lyrics. Don't let critics confuse you this is ain't your mom's psychedelic music. This stuff can't happen without the outre punk of Flaming Lips! And yes at thirty six minutes, it may seem kinda of pricey but it is all killer and no filler. Excuse me, that's it, I'm in love!

I really love Beulah. I have to say I have quite the fondness for them. It started from hearing TCINC, and it really astounded me. It had so much life in it. He was hurting on all the songs but through a wonderful chorus of joy.

I for some reason hesitated in getting the other albums right away, I think it's cause there weren't that many. But this one, ooh boy this is great. To see where this band has travelled and to know that they truly like to get better and better. It's not that they improved their sound on TCINC, they were just trying on a different outfit.

Yoko is really good too, but don't ever expect to hear more of the same thing, Beulah are wonderful like that, they want you to enjoy their music, not think about how it should sound.

This is a fantastic album from beginning to end. Anyone into indie pop or just melodic indie should give this a listen. The harmonies, horns, and melodies are fantastic. I enjoy this far far more than any of the other Beulah albums. I'd pick this over Neutral Milk Hotel any day of the week.

In my humble opinion this is one of the best examples of 90's lo-fi bedroom rock. In fact, I prefer this recording to just about anything by sebadoh, mountain goats, microphones, or even guided by voices. It's confident, yet completely unassuming. There's just a quiet swagger that the band had in the early days, kind of like they were discovering the new world. A very essential recording for anyone interested in the milestones of lo-fi indie rock.

This has got to be the greatest album I have heard in over a year. It keeps you coming back for more and is just plain essential. It's good grooves with horns, strings, and wonderful effects peppered throughout. Buy this!

I'm happy, yet terribly sad at the same time. Why?, you ask. I've found this amazing record here, filled with inventive lyrics and beautiful music; a sonic euphoria that invites multiple listenings and never gets old. Yet I am sad because I despair of ever stumbling on another album this great for a while. Alas, Elephant 6, thou art my heroes!