9/4/2023 0 Comments Helio sequence topaz farm![]() ![]() Now that we've articulated a sort of sliding-scale, individually specific model of cheese appreciation, I can go on record as saying, without it being taken as a putatively objective value judgment: The Helio Sequence's Love and Distance is fucking cheesy. Once you have your personal cheese affinity rating nailed down, add or subtract it to the rating above in order to determine the rating for The Helio Sequence's Love and Distance that best suits you. Here, -5 will signify that you have a deep-seated anathema for cheese, and +5 will indicate a deep-seated appreciation. So, what you'll need to do is consider your own personal affinity for cheese, which can be measured by any number of factors: How well do you like Liberace? Notoriously bad sitcoms? Black velvet paintings, preferably of Elvis, bullfighters, or Elvis fighting a bull? Do you enjoy "theme restaurants," especially if the theme is indeterminate and mainly involves a glut of random pop cultural detritus hanging from the walls? Next, rate your affinity for cheese on a scale ranging from -5 to +5. Numbers are stately and immutable in their absolute precision, they limn what is, for all intents and purposes, a personal judgment (one heavily influenced, in this case, by my own relationship with cheese, which is not what one would call "close") as an objective, universal one. See that rating up there? Numerical ratings are troublesome. But it is important within the context of this review, because your relative lactose tolerance is going to drastically influence your response to this record. Cheese, by its very nature, is frivolous. Cheese is grandiose, and not afraid to be maudlin- there is no obfuscation with cheese, no artful hedging of bets: Cheese is heart-sleeved and money-mouthed, and it dares you to insult it for being what it proudly proclaims itself to be. It storms in through the front door in a sequined tuxedo with lace cuffs, recites a ribald limerick and spikes the punch with peppermint schnapps. It does not slip in, fashionably late, through the side entrance. ![]() For another: Cheese is ostentatious, the dubious life of the party. For one: Cheese is earnest, although not everything that's earnest is cheesy. Like postmodernism, grace, or pornography, we know cheese when we see it, and can list its qualities all day without attaining its complete essence. I now ask: What's cheese? Cheese is difficult to pin down. ![]() If Love and Distance was the album that pushed the Helio Sequence off the rails, Keep Your Eyes Ahead is the sound of the duo getting back on track.Biggie once asked: "What's beef?" (and unfortunately, he found out). They're still too loud to be the work of a genuine pop band, but that's certainly where the Helio Sequence seems to be heading, having trimmed the length of their tunes (nothing here exceeds the 4:30 mark) and emphasized songcraft over pure ambience. The album's biggest songs - "Hallelujah," "Can't Say No," and the reverb-drenched title track - are driven not only by dense guitars, but also a new focus on melody. But the group is still able to build up cloudy walls of sound, adding bubbling electronics and layers of instruments into songs that are lush, towering, and altogether gorgeous. For a band that used to channel My Bloody Valentine's mix of noise and beauty, folksy ballads like "Broken Afternoon" and "Shed Your Love" are a big change, a result of Summers' desire to slow down the band's galloping pace. Summers no longer yelps, perhaps because his scarred throat simply won't let him, and the group now alternates between massive psych-rock, dreamy pop, and Dylan-influence folk. Four years later, Summers appears to have regained the use of his pipes, and the band's fourth album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, is another sonic jump. The frontman had an even tougher time on the road, where a string of shows steadily whittled his voice down to a raspy fraction of its original power. The album was a step forward for the Helio Sequence, but it was still a haphazard move, one that found Summers yelping and shouting in an attempt to deliver a memorable performance. On 2004's Love and Distance, frontman Brandon Summers found his voice and pushed it the forefront of his band's swirling sound. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |