Pam—who will probably not write a review this week, so I don't mind stealing from her in service of writing my own review—heard Brave Faces Everyone last weekend as we drove to Bucks County, and stated that this is "such a Joe K***" album. Not that I am special, but that I have a "type," and Spanish Love Songs are absolutely that type.
What does "my type" look like? It's a question worth asking, because I sit here every Friday and explain to you whether I like an album or not, and I mostly do a very poor job with the explanation itself. But the grade at the bottom tells you whether I liked it or not, and that more or less boils down to whether it fit the set of standards I have constructed in judging music and my enjoyment of it. So it's one thing to know whether I liked it or not based on these standards; it's another to understand what these standards are.
If I said that I love Brave Faces Everyone, then what does that mean? It's because it is "my type" of music. But what does "my type" look like? And if "my type" is not "your type," then it would be important to know that, because my love of an album might signal to someone that they will not like it.
(This might sound like a strawman, but people have literally told me before that a positive Joe K*** review of an album only renders them more skeptical of the album, and less likely to listen to it. All feelings aside, I want to make it clear what I love about the music I love, so that the reader can understand that, if what they love is different than what I love, they can set their expectations accordingly.)
So what do I love about Brave Faces Everyone (and subsequently all albums of its ilk)? I'd argue that it has characteristics regarding music, vocals, and lyrics that are specific to this particular emo-pop-punk-rock type music that I usually love.
MUSIC: It's loud and passionate rock music. The guitars are loud (unless they aren't, but those moments they drop out are in service of the moment that they come crashing back in). The drums are pounding. Most of it's in 4/4 time and mid-to-fast tempo. It's atmospheric, but not in a post-rock way; it's swirling and frantic, but grounded too. The passion matches the...
VOCALS: For better or worse, it's usually a male singer, and he has two modes. First, he's baritone and calm. Next, he's shouting and his voice breaks a little and you can tell he's fucking angry, he fucking feels what he's saying. This might come off as corny or insincere to some, but if it's a ruse, if a lack of passion is dressed up in these particular vocals in order to con, then consider me conned, and gratefully so.
LYRICS: I'm more drawn toward lyrics that are wistfully melancholy or even outright depressing, versus cloyingly optimistic. Or, if the refrain seems optimistic, then this needs to be lampshaded as at least slightly tongue in cheek. (E.g. "It won't be this bleak forever," followed by "Yeah right!") The refrains should read like epitaphs, shouted at full throttle. Also, it helps when the subject matter matches up with my current age group and where I'm situated in society. If there's shit about feeling uncomfortable with your role in life, while all the while that life is hurtling toward a certain death, then I'm gonna be on board. Especially in combo with those powerful vocals—brave in the face of defeat (*gets a rotten tomato chucked at him for using a word from the album's title in such a hackneyed fashion*).
Brave Faces Everyone does all this, and it does it well. That's up to you whether doing all this well will translate into your own personal joy.
I'm not saying that albums like Brave Faces Everyone constitute ALL the music I love in this world. I'm saying that when an album like Brave Faces Everyone comes around, I will always love it.
GRADE: 4 pukes out of 5
1 comment:
Good texture write up of emo-pop-punk-rock. Your point on lyrics reminds me of something Cobain said of how he often lampshaded his lyrics; not being quite on the nose made better art. Better for those who like it, anyway, like you said.
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