Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity
Dallas rock stars attempt the impossible: The attention-grabbing status quo?
In preparation for this inaugural album review from Cage and Aquarium, I was doing a little research. I found that Blender Magazine has a write-up on the New Old 97’s effort. I then noticed they had written the exact opposite of my thoughts on this record (for instance, their two favorite songs are my “skip tracks”), so I figure I must be doing something right. - Touché Maxim moguls.
The album kicked off with “The Fool” and I have to admit my initial disappointment. There is nothing worse than a great band phoning it in on a new album after four years of nothingness. But I noticed, as I forced myself through some of the early tracks, the album grew on me. After listening to Blame it on Gravity for the mandatory third time, I became comfortable with my conclusions, and ready to write the first of many Cage and Aquarium staff reviews.
First and foremost, this might be the most lyrically interesting Old 97’s effort to date. They have some corny rhymes (i.e. telecaster and train disaster), but there is a nice message underneath the hard-to-handle forced poetry. That is not to say this album does not have verbal stinkers, because it does. “She loves the Sunset” is a song that proves this point.
Although some songs fall very short lyrically, I like that the Old 97’s took some risks on this new album. “Here’s to the Halcyon” is a sarcastically religious track that leaves a lot up to interpretation. But my favorite verbal menace is the reference to Dallas, Texas as “big D-little, AKA the city of hate…deep in the big black heart of the Lone Star state.” So many times great bands from Texas get defensive when you point out true generalizations about the state of Texas and the people who inhabit it. I’m talking to you Bob Schneider.
My second observation is that Murray Hammond saved this record. Old 97’s fans might remember him as the quirky bass player with the novelty songs on any given Rhett Miller fronted collection – see “Crash in a Barrelhead” from Fight Songs, and “Coahuila” from Drag It Up. Playing Cosmo Kramer to Miller’s Seinfield has worked in the past, but it seems Hammond is tired of being typecast. He has written some amazing songs here. “Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue” is a chilling song that deals with the different types of tragic loss experienced throughout a lifetime. To show his emotional diversity, he also penned “This Beautiful Thing” which is a very sweet love song that captures the amazing way a relationship begins. And to top it off, he wrote the chorus to “My Two Feet” which is the best all-around track on BIOG.
I remember listening to Hitchhiker in Rhome my junior year at Joplin High, 1994, wondering "where can this band could go from here?" It has been an up and down 14-year battle, with some Rhett Miller solo records thrown in the mix, but I am happy with the present. Somehow this band has managed to keep it interesting without changing their root sound too much (not an easy task...ask Radiohead). I give Blame it on Gravity 3 out of 5 spins.
Love these: My Two Feet, Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue, The One
Skip these: The Fool, She Loves The Sunset
In preparation for this inaugural album review from Cage and Aquarium, I was doing a little research. I found that Blender Magazine has a write-up on the New Old 97’s effort. I then noticed they had written the exact opposite of my thoughts on this record (for instance, their two favorite songs are my “skip tracks”), so I figure I must be doing something right. - Touché Maxim moguls.
The album kicked off with “The Fool” and I have to admit my initial disappointment. There is nothing worse than a great band phoning it in on a new album after four years of nothingness. But I noticed, as I forced myself through some of the early tracks, the album grew on me. After listening to Blame it on Gravity for the mandatory third time, I became comfortable with my conclusions, and ready to write the first of many Cage and Aquarium staff reviews.
First and foremost, this might be the most lyrically interesting Old 97’s effort to date. They have some corny rhymes (i.e. telecaster and train disaster), but there is a nice message underneath the hard-to-handle forced poetry. That is not to say this album does not have verbal stinkers, because it does. “She loves the Sunset” is a song that proves this point.
Although some songs fall very short lyrically, I like that the Old 97’s took some risks on this new album. “Here’s to the Halcyon” is a sarcastically religious track that leaves a lot up to interpretation. But my favorite verbal menace is the reference to Dallas, Texas as “big D-little, AKA the city of hate…deep in the big black heart of the Lone Star state.” So many times great bands from Texas get defensive when you point out true generalizations about the state of Texas and the people who inhabit it. I’m talking to you Bob Schneider.
My second observation is that Murray Hammond saved this record. Old 97’s fans might remember him as the quirky bass player with the novelty songs on any given Rhett Miller fronted collection – see “Crash in a Barrelhead” from Fight Songs, and “Coahuila” from Drag It Up. Playing Cosmo Kramer to Miller’s Seinfield has worked in the past, but it seems Hammond is tired of being typecast. He has written some amazing songs here. “Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue” is a chilling song that deals with the different types of tragic loss experienced throughout a lifetime. To show his emotional diversity, he also penned “This Beautiful Thing” which is a very sweet love song that captures the amazing way a relationship begins. And to top it off, he wrote the chorus to “My Two Feet” which is the best all-around track on BIOG.
I remember listening to Hitchhiker in Rhome my junior year at Joplin High, 1994, wondering "where can this band could go from here?" It has been an up and down 14-year battle, with some Rhett Miller solo records thrown in the mix, but I am happy with the present. Somehow this band has managed to keep it interesting without changing their root sound too much (not an easy task...ask Radiohead). I give Blame it on Gravity 3 out of 5 spins.
Love these: My Two Feet, Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue, The One
Skip these: The Fool, She Loves The Sunset
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