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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little soft in the middle., October 13, 2004
After American Music Club split up around ten years ago, Mark Eitzel, while making many lovely albums, never sounded very optimistic in interviews about putting his old band together again. A sad fact that one of the best bands of the mid-80s to the mid-90s, with one of the most consistently brilliant outputs, could only gather heaps of critical praise while never diminishing their heaps of unsold albums. Luckily the boys, although without their wonderful pedal steel player Bruce Kaphlan, have decided to try again with a new piano player. How to describe the new album? Well, comparing this album to their old albums does not work very well. Instrumentally it has the most similarities with Restless Stranger or Engine although has neither the awful 80s new wave sound of the former or the minor key brashness of the latter. Gladly, they have produced something with a familiar uniqueness. I welcome any output from AMC; however, their product from 2004 with many fine songs lacks the same homogenous consistency of gorgeousness as Engine or Mercury.
When first hearing that the Bayside boys had a new album in the making and that I could sample the first two songs on the album, _Ladies and Gentlemen_ and _Another Morning_, off their website I faced the prospect with slight trepidation. I love AMC but matching their previous output proves a great challenge. So, I sucked up the fear and listened to the songs. Much to my surprise those two songs make up some of the highlights of the album. The first, a jazz flavored song instructing people to getting rid of their hate, has a nice defeated optimism about it along with a 60 Watt Silver Lining-ish feel, except with a quicker tempo. The second song, a more acoustic number, has the wonderful lyrics I have come to expect from Eitzel with some excellent accompaniment from Vudi and the rest of the band. Some other highlights include _Myopic Books_, _Mantovani the Mind Reader_, and _Horseshoe Wreath in Bloom_, which all combine a kind of playful sarcasm with an underlying resignation. The much prevalent, but often overlooked humor always found in Mark's songs shines on those three numbers with a love-the-loser pathos. _Patriot's Heart_ burns with verbosity and anger and passion, throwing tons of imagery out there with no discernable hook, producing one of the finest moments on the album out of unadulterated intensity. Similarly, _Home_ carries a cynicism that makes it stand out, particularly in the choruses. All the aforementioned songs have nice piano flourishes with their own ambient charm that fill in nicely where pedal steel used to go.
Aside from those songs the rest of the songs don't have anything that special about them. Not bad songs really, just not great and they get shadowed by the other good songs. Tracks like _Love Is_, _Job to Do_, _Only Love Can Set You Free_, and _Devil Needs You_ have a kind of tepid quality with occasional hints of something better, although no hooks or non-ephemeral greatness last when the songs end. They bring down the album a little with their transience, although maybe I haven't listened to the songs enough to really appreciate their nuances.
Overall a good CD with many songs rivaling anything in the AMC catalogue unfortunately with a little weakness during mainly the middle portion of the CD. Hopefully this band gets a little bit more recognition and keeps putting out more CDs. They haven't run out of beautiful material yet. I remain hopeful that they keep improving.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such exquisite sorrow, February 16, 2005
On Love Songs for Patriots, American Music Club's mood is as dark as ever, but infused with the hope of redemption. Filled with yearning and distorted dreams delivered in the most beautifully poetic lyrics, the first three tracks Ladies and Gentleman, Another Morning and Patriot's Heart set the lugubrious but defiant tone for this masterpiece.
The drinking song Ladies and Gentleman is achingly moving in its juxtaposition of the pain of living with either truth or with lies. Patriot's Heart, about a male stripper, is a masterpiece of conflicting emotions, cynicism blended with compassion and understanding. Wow, this approach is something else, so unique and stirring.
There are also gentle and tender moments like Another Morning, an inspiring song about shaking off bitterness and depression, framed in a lovely melody and pop orchestration. Another highlight, and one with a sprinkling of humour, is the gentle ballad Myopic Books. The delicate track Love Is reminds me of their gem of a song Firefly from an earlier album, whilst Only Love Can Set You Free is an appealing love song.
The last two tracks, Song of the Rats Leaving the Sinking Ship and The Devil Needs You, are quite ambiguous and may be interpreted on both a personal and universal level. The latter is over 7 minutes long and combines a powerful drum pattern with delirious keyboards and horns to conclude the album on a high note.
As with the rest of their oeuvre, Love Songs For Patriots is not easy listening for everybody, but if you love the kind of redemptive sadness often found in the work of artists like Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Richard Thompson, Peter Murphy, Swans, Michael Gira's Angels Of Light, Nick Cave, Emmylou Harris or Jane Siberry, you will love this welcome return by American Music Club.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Year's Best, October 26, 2004
It's slightly difficult. Mark Eitzel's run-on, rhymeless, occasionally semi-monotone vocal style and Vudi, with his drifting, non-top-40 structured guitars, can always be a challenge at first listen. But, wow, the lyrics and underlying melodies here are stronger than ever, and the production amazes throughout, with the essential mood of each song reflected and reinforced in the backing musical textures. Eitzel's dramatic voice, intelligence, insight and humor explode and enchant, reach into your heart and calm or move you, or smack you with passionate sarcasm to a sincere grin. It's truly incredible that, after 10 years, the band can mount a comeback with what I think is their best album ever. It's one of those rare releases you want to play again and again because you want to rediscover each song and take in "the whole" as a work of art each time. Absolutely no top 40 hits here. Zero. But not one bad song. It's a stunning painting or a complex and stirring novel to the ears.
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