Although this album isn't new (2002), it slipped under the radar for a while. Centaur is a three-piece band featuring ex Hum singer Matt Talbott. I was a huge fan of Hum for a long time and I would rank the show they did at the Middle East in Cambridge Mass as one of the best shows I have ever been to. I couldn't help but think this album would pale in comparison to the old Hum stuff though.
Hum music was all about layering sounds. For example when I saw them live I think they had three guys playing guitar including Talbott who was the lead singer, and they played through three full stack amplifiers. Then there was the bass player and the drummer. A louder show I have never been to, but the layering was what created their sound.
Talbott is something of a vocal minimalist. He never really seems to go crazy extending himself to test his range. He writes melodies the way he likes them and just sings them without much fanfair. Combine this with the fact that Centaur only has three members and I had no idea what to expect from this band.
I have been pleasantly surprised by this album. It is certainly a lot different than Hum ever did, but it works. It is a little more user-friendly. The melodies are very accessible and while there are still plenty of layers, they are the kinds of layers that go along with acoustic guitars quite frequently. Very atmospheric types of things that don't drag attention away from Talbott's vocals.
This was all very true until I got to track 3 called "The Same Place," which as it turns is a pretty ironic name for the song. I don't know what the song is really about, but it is definitely coming from "The Same Place" as the Hum songs of the past. It might be a little less bombastic, but it has a super-thick guitar riff throughout that just doesn't deserve to play the melody that it's playing. The vocals don't get ramped up even with the added heaviness in typical Talbott fashion.
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