BEAK> - BEAK> Review
Posted by Lucas Wesley on 11.10.2009
Geoff Barrow of Portishead uses his time off to form a band. Does it live up to his former work? Is it at least somewhat worth your time?
Note: I have seen this album labeled as self titled and as titled “Recordings 05/01/09 > 17/01/09.” I have also seen the band’s name written in all caps, all lowercase and with regular capitalization. Regardless of what you have heard it to be called, this is the name I’m going with. Right or wrong, this is the review for the new Geoff Barrow album. That’s all anyone cares about anyway, right?
1. Backwell
2. Pill
3. Ham Green
4. I Know
5. Battery Point
6. Iron Action
7. Ears Have Ears
8. Blagdon Lake
9. Barrow Gurney
10. The Cornubia
11. Dundry Hill
12. Flax Bourbon
The big story behind this release was that Geoff Barrow, one of the members of the group, is a known perfectionist. He's also a member of Portishead, a band some of you may recall having taken nine years between albums, in part due to that perfectionism. This album, on the other hand, was written in 12 days, leaving no time for that particular ethic. Naturally pessimistic, my initial instinct was to come in seeing this as a flaw. The first three minutes of the album (and thus the first half of "Backwell") are a slow, plodding build. The whole time, I found myself thinking, ah, if only he spent time on it, thought about the quality control! However, around the three minute mark, "Backwell" swiftly changes to a great electronic beat, with fun bass play in the back. Perfectionism be damned, this just became really good.
Unfortunately, the album doesn't exactly keep its stride. In fact, the dynamic exhibited in the first song is evident in nearly all of the album's great songs. It starts slow and plodding for half of the song, then inexplicably turns into something good. It would be one thing if there were a continual build, but more often than not the song is exactly the same for three minutes, builds for ten seconds, then moves to something great. If we cut that three minutes down to thirty seconds, this could be a great album. As is, it's an album that needs an editor.
Luckily, there are some exceptions to the pattern. "I Know" basically follows the design I just laid out: the build comes to about ten seconds, then we get to business. "Iron Action" builds for longer, but at least the build is completely clear. "Blagdon Lake" has perhaps the most natural, and thus best, build of the entire album, and it goes through the motion in under a minute. And I must admit, though I knocked it at first, later listens revealed that “Backwell” does contain a pretty good build. At the same time, other songs like "Ears Have Ears" tend to go at the same, slow pace the entire song. This leaves me cold to the album, wondering what the point is. I understand repetition in music if it's interesting, fun, danceable...something. But much of this music repeats to no effect; it's electronic drone. That's no fun.
I just noted that it was the second listen to “Backwell” that I realized the build. That’s because this is an album that really needs headphones to be appreciated. I tried listening to it without them the first time, but I ended up leaving the room during the beginning because I couldn’t hear anything happening. Perhaps this is bad reviewing practice, but that’s why I did it twice. This is a quiet album. Not in the Sigur Rós or Arvo Pärt way, but just in the sense where you really need to listen to hear everything that’s going on. It’s very difficult to type that without sounding pretentious, so perhaps I should add that my hearing isn’t the greatest and this may not be the case for you. But the point is that this is by no means music that jumps out at you.
In saying this, though, I must recognize that the album hails itself as experimental. While only "Barrow Gurney," the first half of "Dundry Hill" and "Flax Bourton" are blatant in their experimental nature, I do admit that it's true. As would any side project from a musician in a critically beloved band, this album feels like one big experiment. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and we can't really fault them for trying. Any album that features songs I can't describe without using the terms "electronic pop" alongside a song I can't describe without using the term "modernized Joy Division" deserves some props, as long as they do it moderately well. Though the feel of Joy Division lasts only for a brief section of one song, it is done well, so those props are rightly earned. Not to mention the John Cale influenced strings we hear in the last track giving it an equally cool status, though those strings could use something going on in the forefront, if I could be so needy.
However, the acknowledgment of differing styles is worth drawing attention to. Though the album does have somewhat of an indescribable but consistent sound, it doesn’t necessarily conform to the exact confines of one genre. This is Geoff Barrow after all, and Portishead could certainly never be pinned down either. We could simplify it to alternative, but what music isn’t alternative in 2009? And by no means is this “trip hop,” though that genre is so ill defined we could lie and call anything trip hop. Regardless, what’s worth noting is that while the album isn’t consistently great, it is consistent in its competency: no song sounds like it was poorly made, or that the group is acting out of their “comfort zone.” While its unfortunate that not every song is a classic, it’s truly impressive that at no point while listening did I think “oh, why did they even bother trying that?”
One final issue needs to be touched upon when talking about BEAK>. The vocals. It seems kind of unfair to judge them in any way, knowing where Geoff Barrow comes from. His other band has one of the greatest vocalists of all time, whose voice could fit any mood perfectly and often does. There are almost no vocalists that could live up to Beth Gibbons, so it’s foolish to assume they're even going to try. And clearly, they don't. First of all, the vocals are male, thus halting the vast majority of Beth Gibbons comparisons right off the bat. Second, they are more in the indie vein, purposefully sounding distant and unconnected. Thirdly, vocals appear in less than half of the songs. They aren't a big deal, but simply due to the Gibbons connection I felt they needed to somehow be addressed. To the credit of the vocalist, while he isn't a good singer, it certainly fits, and that's all you can really ask for.
The 411: Ultimately, I'm kind of conflicted. I realize there's probably more complaint there than love. However, it's come to my attention over recent weeks that I occasion to be a negative person. As such, the rating here may not directly reflect the content of the review. Understand this: when this album is good, it's really, really good. I complain because those moments aren't terribly plentiful and often you need to wait for them to happen. But if you can accept that at certain times that's the point, then you might find some greatness in this album. Just be patient and don't expect too much consistency.
