Barcelona - Absolutes Review
Posted by Rob Fierro on 07.04.2009
Self-described as “piano rock,” Barcelona utilizes Fennel’s songwriting and keyboard play to produce an album that is very introspective, emotional and layered.
Lineup
Brian Fennell: singer-songwriter, keyboardist
Chris Bristol: guitar
Rhett Stonelake: drums
Brian Eichelberger: producer, strings
Tracks
Falling Out of Trees
It’s About Time
Lesser Things*
Colors
Come Back When You Can*
Get Up
The Takers
First Floor People*
Response
Faded*
Stars
Numb
Please Don’t Go
*worth a listen
Formed in 2005, Seattle-based indie rock outfit, Barcelona, began as singer-songwriter, Brian Fennel’s solo project. He recorded 2005’s Safety Songs and then enlisted friends Chris Bristol, Rhett Stonelake and Brian Eichelberger to help him tour to support the offering. During the tour, the quartet would build upon the strong foundation of his solo effort and flesh out the sounds that would later become Barcelona’s debut, the reissued, Absolutes.
“It ended up a combination of songs I’d written before Barcelona and new songs we wrote as a band. Somehow we were lucky enough to be that cohesive. These songs written over this span of time and transition led to what we thought was a strong full length record of songs that made sense together,” said Fennel, on the creative process behind Absolutes.
Self-described as “piano rock,” Barcelona utilizes Fennel’s songwriting and keyboard play to produce an album that is very introspective, emotional and layered—one that Seattle Weekly describes as “the best local debut of 2007.” Solid drumming by Stonelake backs Bristol’s strong guitar play and Eichelberger’s string contributions help round out the offering.
Absolutes begins with a very personal and vocal driven track “Falling Out of Trees.” It is presented in seemingly different sections: one half catchy pop tune and one half slow ballad, well suited for an arena. “It’s About Time” prominently features Fennel’s keyboard playing in a fast moving, pop-rock template. Bristol’s strong guitar play highlights the slower section of the track. These tracks demonstrate Fennel’s propensity to break the song down into slower sections to aid the introspective and personal sounds he creates. “Lesser Things,” one of the better offerings on Absolutes, starts off slow until Stonelake shows off his drumming ability. The other members of the band provide strong back up vocals in this very catchy and experimental pop-tune.
Next up, “Colors” is another one of Fennel’s slow starting tracks. It features strong percussion by Stonelake, bass accompaniment and effects on Fennel’s vocals. “Come Back When You Can” is a slow, keyboard-driven ballad that features more prominent percussion. Here, Fennel creates a sound very reminiscent of Radiohead’s “Karma Police.” “Get Up” is yet another slow ballad that features female vocal backup. Fennel’s influences are demonstrated in this track, as his vocals and instrumentation are very reminiscent of Death Cab For Cutie’s “Brothers on a Hotel Bed.” Eichelberger offers string back up as well on this multilayered track.
“The Takers” is a return to Fennel’s faster pop-rock roots. The effects on the keyboard create a very interesting sound, backed up by prominent vocals by the other members of Barcelona. The ballad, “First Floor People,” starts off slow and gradually incorporates the other elements of the band. Stonelake seems to play with brushes instead of traditional drumsticks to create provocative percussion. “Response” is another return to Fennel’s full-blown indie-pop/rock template. Bristol provides strong lead guitar, while Fennel’s keyboard handles the rhythm duties.
The last third of the album marks a greater use of Eichelberger’s string accompaniment. “Faded” is a slow, vocal-driven track that features background sound experimentation and violin accompaniment. Fennel’s keyboard and Eichelberger’s violin provide the track with an interesting dichotomy. “Stars” continues this trend and features Stonelake’s prominent percussion. “Numb” is also a pop offering in this vein. More strings are utilized in this track and it features a very slow ending. Fennel completes the album with perhaps the slowest offering yet. “Please Don’t Go” is a very slow ballad featuring sound effects in the background and dream-like violin backing.
Fennel and company are skilled songwriters and provide solid "piano rock" in Absolutes. It's personal, layered and experimental. The Seattle music scene and the rest of the indie world await their next offering.
The 411: Too slow at times, Barcelona creates a very interesting album. Definitely worth a listen, as some of the tracks are killer, but the rest is too often very vanilla indie pop. Fennel and company received a lot of strong press for this album and deservedly so, it just doesn't play to my liking. Give it a shot.
