Transatlanticism acts like a gateway into the second half of the album. You almost forget that the first part even existed. Not since records and tapes have I seen such a Side A to Side B organization to an album. The only thing I can’t figure out is whether Transatlanticism should have closed out Side A or opened Side B.
Passenger Seat is the calm after the storm that was Transatlanticism. Death of an Interior Decorator seems like a throw-in song that is reminiscent of the "waltz" tunes that Elliott Smith does on XO. We Looked Like Giants, a song of college sexual experimentation raises the action level, no pun intended. "I would brave those mountain passes, and you’d skip your early classes and we’d learn how our bodies worked," It is probably the most urgent song on the album before it resolves itself to a breathy finish. Which brings us to A Lack of Color to end the adventure with minimalist acoustic sparseness.
This album has a number of good songs, but it is amazing what one song can do for an entire album. Without Transatlanticism to bridge the gap from "Side A" to "Side B" and raise the emotional bar, I am not sure what my impressions of this album would be. Luckily, I don’t have to think about that.
(Transatlanticism comes out on October 7th from Barsuk Records)
01 The New Year
02 Lightness
03 Title and Registration
04 Expo '86
05 The Sound of Settling
06 Tiny Vessels
07 Transatlanticism
08 Passenger Seat
09 Death of an Interior Decorator
10 We Looked Like Giants
11 A Lack of Color
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Dammit, yet another thing to add to my growing list of things I absolutely must own. I didn't even know this was coming out - and I usually seem to find release dates for everything, somehow . . .
2 - Craig Lyndall
I don't think you will be dissappointed. I felt as if I struck gold when I got a chance to hear it early.