Music Review: The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army - Page 4

Author: PatrickPublished: Jun 21, 2007 at 8:57 am 0 comments

“Overblow Your Nest” hits the same mood as “One Man Show” and “Suitcase Calling” from Heavy, starting with just one vocalist and a sad mood, then gradually building to a powerful, mournful chorus. It’s not that groundbreaking, but that chorus is just emotionally overwhelming, a reaching, pleading feeling. This is another one I’m really eager to see live, that explosion at the end of the song is phenomenal.

“The Championship” is a suitably triumphant closer, with a lot of building rhythm and shifting emotion across the length of the song. The drums on this song are the highlight, bouncing back and forth, then going heavier on the “Raise our voice” part of the song. This is a great track, my only complaint is that it fades out too soon, the “Raise our voice” refrain is echoing, with instrumental embellishment on top. This could go on for a good minute or two, but the volume just goes down. I would have loved to hear more. But, that’s just as much a compliment about the song as it it’s a criticism.

Ultimately, what makes the band so powerful for me is the emotion of the music they create. It’s happy and joyous in a completely unironic way, and you just don’t hear that much today. People talk about how they’re a cult or a relic of sixties culture, but I just don’t see that. Listen to the album and get wrapped up in what they’re doing, creating energetic exciting music that has an infectious joy. I think this album stands with their best work, and will be high on my top ten list come year’s end.

Page 1Page 2Page 3 — Page 4

Article tags

Spread the word
Bookmark and Share
Profile image for patrick

Article Author: Patrick

Patrick Meaney is a filmmaker/reviewer based out of New York. His films are available on RespectFilms.com, and writings at Thoughts on Stuff. His is also the creator of the webseries The Third Age.

Visit Patrick's author pagePatrick's Blog

Read comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own
  • The Fragile Army (Bonus Dvd) The Fragile Army (Bonus Dvd)

    Special Edition CD/DVD set includes bonus dvd with 51 minute movie about the making of the album and a unique music video for the title track, "The Fragile Army." This 2 disc set is packaged with a ...

Article comments

Add your comment, speak your mind

Personal attacks are NOT allowed.
Please read our comment policy.
Please preview your comment.

blogcritics lists for Nov 21, 2009

fresh articles Most recent articles site-wide

fresh comments Most recent comments site-wide

most comments Most comments in 24hrs

top writers Most prolific Blogcritics for October

top commenters Most prolific Commenters in 24 hrs