Customer Reviews

World Waits

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The most striking thing about Jeremy Enigk's World Waits, the much-anticipated follow-up to his 1996 solo album Return Of The Frog Queen, is its constant and seamless stylistic shifts. Even the brief opener "A New Beginning" evolves from ambient guitar picking punctuated by the cyclical panning of ethereal female voices, to the grandeur of what sounds like a fully orchestrated rock opera overture, in about a minute and a half. The other nine tracks that make up World Waits range from thoughtful folk-tinged pop ("River To Sea") to quirky, deliberately restrained indie rock ("Canons"), all held together by Jeremy's trademark voice, often stacked on top of itself and drenched in reverb.

Along the way, his experimental nature is still evident, though it comes out in very different ways than the psychedelic orchestrations and spastic vocal outbursts that made Frog Queen so adventurous. "City Tonight" is a mid-tempo rocker laden with Depeche Mode synths underneath a chorus of call-and-response vocal layering, while "Wayward Love" pits lush strings and 70s prog vocal harmonies against classical guitar and swelling keyboard pads, propelled through a brief two-minutes by distant hand drums. Meanwhile the unresolved arpeggios of "Dare A Smile" sound at once sweet and anxious against the constant pedal tone, as the song slowly churns with its soothing but nightmarish beauty.

For all the instrumentation and full orchestrations found on World Waits, the production wisely never gets in the way of Jeremy's vocals, which are as strong as ever at both extremities of his range. The most memorable moments are those when everything gives way to allow as much space as possible to showcase his voice, such as in "Damien Dreams," which ranges from his lowest raspy hum, to a screeching, tortured cry. An especially moving moment is the soaring vocal melody of the first verse of "Burn," made all the more effective by its sparse accompaniment, a simple piano/organ drone.

As with Return Of The Frog Queen, the biggest (and perhaps only) complaint that can be made about World Waits, is that it's over far too quickly. In 36 minutes, Enigk manages to effortlessly combine a myriad of genres and bend them to his whim, while stretching his voice from a rich, low growl, to an airy falsetto. His longtime fans will surely cherish the album as an instant classic that holds up against his earlier work, even Sunny Day Real Estate's 1998 masterpiece "How It Feels To Be Something On." I only hope that there is enough good press to get this album the attention it deserves, so that the insatiable appetite of his adoring public might be able to see a follow-up without waiting another ten years.

I remember hearing and seeing Sunny Day Real Estate when they released Diary and seeing the video for In Circles on 120 minutes every Sunday night on MTV. I loved the song but was skeptical about the band for a while. I remember seeing several musicians later on telling how much they loved Jeremy Enigk's first solo album Return Of The Frog Queen and seeing it on a bunch of lists for the best albums of 1996. I decided to give it a try and when I listened to it I was hooked and then I became a huge fan of Sunny Day Real Estate and saw them when they toured for How It Feels To Be Something On and they were amazing and his voice is as good live as it is recorded. If you are looking for a redux of Return Of The Frog Queen then this is not for you. Jeremy continues in the direction that he has been going in the past few years as he has been with Sunny Day and The Fire Theft. It is heavily influenced by progressive but it is very majestic and very uplifting. There is not a weak song on here. A New Beginning is definitely what he seems to be trying to say and prove on this album and he is still the one with that magical voice. Yes, he is the man who helped launch the bands who profess their elegance to emo and rule MTV and the teen magazines but what some of these bands don't seem to get is that it is more about the music than it is about what you are wearing and who you are seen with and how you present yourself. Listen up Pete Wentz and Panic! At The Disco.

I didn't expect that much from Enigk's second solo album and it wound up pretty much blowing me away. If you're familiar with Sunny Day Real Estate, you already know what to expect - I'm loathe to apply the term "emo" but SDRE was at the heart of the genre before it become corrupted by what it's become today, but this really is emotional rock, full of heartfelt declarations and grandiose movements. However, there are moments on this album that approach prog-rock excesses and for that I'm appreciative - Enigk clearly allowed his muse to take him where he needed to go and the end result is one of 2006's most beautiful rock albums. Don't miss it.

There has been a change in Enigk's music since he was in Sunny Day Real Estate, his first solo release, through The Fire Theft and his current release. You can really see the change in his life paralleled with the change in his music. Going from the angst ridden, dark, brooding sounds of SDRE, to the mystical and middle age-sounding first solo release, to a breakthrough about his personal convictions that is heard in the late SDRE and The Fire Theft. Jeremy has moved from someone who was lost and searching to someone who had found the way (yet still struggling with the truth)and finally into someone who is able to express the healing and joy he is experiencing through his music, sharing this gift with all his listeners. World Waits is beautiful, and it will lift your heart, Enigk's placid voice will guide you through his personal convictions to the dawn of the joy he has been experiencing in the past few years of his life.

For the most part, there are only two types of singer-songwriters: ones who are good at songwriting but lack true vocal brilliance, and ones who have good vocals but write songs so bad that they make my second grade writing look like the greatest novel ever written. Jeremy Enigk is really in a category all his own. His lyrics are among the best out there, and his vocals are possible the best I've ever heard. He has so much range and voice variation that it sounds like 20 different people are singing on this album, and all have the best voices in the business. Meanwhile, his melodies are so good they leave you humming the songs for days, kind of pissing you off a bit b/c his voice is so much better than yours. I love Sunny Day Real Estate, but I think this might be his masterpiece. I don't know if the songs are better overall, but the songs are amazing and he does the best vocal work of his life. I think I would almost have to give this album a 5 just based on the song "World Waits," which is arguably the most beautiful song I've ever heard. I didn't think he would be able to top Sunny Day Real Estate's "How It Feels To Be Something On," which was my personal fav. from the band, but this album has so much to offer that it's hard not to fall madly in love with it.

Even if you have never heard anything from Enigk, buy this album and I promise you will not be sorry. After just listening to a couple of tracks, his voice will become your new friend; this album is very inviting, and while having the soul of his other albums, this one may have a more optimistic sound because I sense more confidence in his voice, and I felt like nothing was forced, almost like he made it seemed easy, which is good, b/c maybe he'll start pumping out albums on a more regular basis, which would be very nice.

See him live and fall in love. Absolute brilliance. How this guys keeps falling under the radar is truly beyond me. He should be a household name. One of the finest singer/songwriters of our generation, a voice that needs to be treasured.

The last time Jeremy stepped out to do a solo record he stripped down all of what he had been doing with Sunny Day Real Estate and created a raw and gripping record that relied on a slanted orchestra and his reaching vocals. That was a long time ago and Jeremy is a far wiser soul with the kind of insight that normally takes years of life experience to achieve.

World Waits takes a page from the work he's done on The Fire Theft debut record and instead of stripping down that sound he's actually built upon it. So much so that with just the opening track you can tell that this is record is far more dramatic and is bigger is so many brilliant ways. The lyrics are alot more subtle just in case you didn't appreciate the straight forward nature of his writing with TFT.

The music lingers and yet wastes no time taking the listner where he needs to go. Not a single sign of pretentious or self importance to be found instead it holds the essence of a musician who is specific, refined, and professional. He knows what he wants and he gets it out there efficiently and without hesitation. The record is only as long as it needs to be and it will leave you satisfied and yet wanting more. Jeremys voice is still the star of the show and it was nice to see him tone it down a bit after reaching some rather high octaves on the fire theft record he has brought his range back down when necessary giving quite a few songs that great mellow feel before rushing into the epic finish.

Not to say that its a perfect record but it does what it does well and how many records do that in this day and age?

...as it pertains to music. We all hear perfection differently, but there is a universal purity in sounds made by those who have hit it just right. Jeremy Enigk has done just that in "World Waits".

In listening to this CD, I heard myself utter - more than once - a hushed "whooooa....!" as chills rushed up my neck.

I became acquainted to his music in "Return of the Frog Prince". I enjoyed it enough to look into his incarnation with Sunny Day Real Estate. I liked their music, but I think Enigk has reached new heights on his own.

Frog Prince tested the waters as solo artist. In World Waits, he jumps in and takes us with him.

Lyrically sounds... musically sound... vocally sound... a must have... Now only if he'd get another Fire Theft album out there for us.... 8^)

I am very surprised the popular vote has cast this cd a two and-a-half star rating. I can see some cheesyness in the Neil Young, Bono, and Lennon impersonations... Wait those are people I would be proud to be compared to. He is inspired and influenced by anyone he may seem to sound like. Jeremy Enigk is inspired and slightly experimental in this album. He has drifted from the wonderful drums and screaming guitars of Sunny Day Real Estate.This is a definate extention of the Fire Theft's debut album even though it carry's the solo title Jeremy Enigk.

This cd has the potential of a Siamese Dream...almost