The last nationally distributed new recording from The Residents was "Demons Dance Alone." People hailed it as a renaissance of sorts for the band. Thanks to the shift in sound, where they eliminated a lot of the synth feel that dominated a lot of the 80s and 90s work, the fans overlooked the fact that the music was just terrible. It signaled the possibility of a return to form, but rung all too hollow.
"Animal Lover" definitely brings to fruition the promise of a return to form. Within the first 10 seconds of "On The Way (to Oklahoma,)" the first track, we realize that this is what we've been waiting for all these years. The vocals are a bit distorted and layered. The music chimes behind them, clashing yet totally complementary, bringing to mind the classical work of Steve Reich. When the small choir kicks in toward the end of the song it feels like you're entering a dream world with the angels ushering you in.
Tracks two, three, and four keep up the momentum with unpredictability, great song structure, and that continued clashing of notes. A tension is present that hasn't been felt since "Duck Stab." Character voices are used, without letting them overshadow the songs. The first four songs alone are essential to any fan of The Residents.
The greatness is put on hold for three minutes for the instrumental "Mr. Bee's Bumble," something that feels like it could have been whipped up during the dance remixing of the WB demos. Not bad, but could have been left off, also, without causing any heart attacks. However, it does signal a change in direction that is present through most of the remaining tracks.
It's more low key than the prior five tracks, creating a comfortable lush atmosphere complemented by good female vocals (probably frequent collaborator Molly Harvey, though the advance copy of the album doesn't list credits.) It's a good introduction to this part of the album, where lush and female vocals dominate. Track seven, "Dead Man," boosts the creepy level a tad with the mournful, almost chant-like singing. There is another small choir used on this track, to great effect.
The most disappointing track of the album follows, "My Window," which feels like it borrows from some of the musical themes of "Demons Dance Alone." And not in a particularly interesting way. But enough of that.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Mark Saleski
cool stuff theory.
i've only got one Residents cd (Cube-E Live, i think) and have always wanted to fill in some holes.
recommendations?
2 - Eric Olsen
huge fan of their seemingly endless stream of weirdness - check out our interview with spokesman Homer here
3 - The Theory
Mark... if you can pick up Fingerprince or Duck Stab at a good price (either Amazon's used option or ebay) either one of them would be, I think, a good place to start.
eric- sorry I didn't post the Amazon ASINs... but i was doing this at, like, 2:30am and forgot with the innitial posting. Then when I checked the article on the site I noticed that I forgot them... but my computer crashed and I said "to heck with it" and went to bed. I was going to fix that today.
4 - The Theory
oh, Mark, and Commerical Album is readily available these days thanks to the 25th Anniversary edition... that's also a good one.
5 - ClubhouseCancer
Theory's recommendations are great places to start.
I also think you could get a cool viewpoint of these guys by buying the new one first and then going back to the ones the theoretical one theorizes are best.
I looove Animal Lover. The first four songs are, like Theory says, a kind of Residents demi-glace, like a sort of summation of a lot of what they do condensed into just a little portion. Theory, do you hear a sort of "summing up" quality to this album, like a purposeful looking backward?
I sort of do, but I doubt myself, because this idea seems so antithetical to their aesthetic.
Great job on the review, too.
6 - ClubhouseCancer
PS: If we're taking a survey, my favorites are Eskimo and Meet the Rs.
7 - Eric Olsen
very early on, those - I love the queasiness of FReak Show
8 - ClubhouseCancer
Me too. I'm higher on Mark of the Mole than Theory, I think, also.
9 - Mark Saleski
if you guys don't cut it out i'm gonna haveta buy every danged record they ever put out!
10 - ClubhouseCancer
Or you can steal them!
Wait, that's another thread....
You'll like these guys, Mark, I'll predict.
11 - Mark Saleski
yep, we'll see...
12 - Eric Olsen
there's a 25 anniversary collection out too, maybe start there?
13 - Mark Saleski
i dunno, i'm not too fond of collections.
i like to hear stuff in it's original context.
14 - ClubhouseCancer
I'll save you the keystrokes, EO.
"I love greatest hits albums!
Sincerely,
Eric"
15 - Eric Olsen
some I do, some I don't - context can be everything or nothing - snatch the pebble glasshopper
16 - Mark Saleski
it's everything, dammit.
17 - Eric Olsen
I don't want to listen to five albums by some group that have one or two good songs on each when I can listen to a hits collection that collects them all - hence the name
18 - Mark Saleski
sure, but how do you know that the other songs aren't 'good'?
one of the few collections i have is Tom Waits' "Used Songs", and the only reason i got that was because i unpacked my stuff after arriving on vacation and realized i'd neglected to pack any Waits cds.
two weeks with no Tom Waits? i don' think so.
19 - Eric Olsen
the hits collections almost always come out after the original albums the songs were on
20 - The Theory
Wow, quite the convo sprang up since I was last on. Letssee...
Re: CC's comment on #5... I think that rather than calling Animal Lover a look back, or a summing up, I think it manages to masterfully cull (a seperation of the wheat from the chaff) what The Residents do best and make it into a cohesive album. If they were trying to look back I suspect that it would sound very forced and end up as ultimately disappointing as Demons Dance Alone.
re: EO's comment #7... Freak Show was the first one (along with Duck Stab and Cube E) I bought... it was used and I was intrigued. Definately ranks up there. I'm also fond of the often ignored (but simular) Gingerbread Man. I love how haunting that melody can be... especially when twisted and repeated to almost a Philip Glass-ian extent.
re: MS's comment #9... doubtful you could do that, even if you wanted to. I've been working on it... and I'm still nine (more or less...) shy of the regular releases... and that's ignoring the undistributed, website/fan club releases.
The one I really want is High Horses, an EP released a number of years back through the website. Only 15 minutes long, it's carosel music, Rez style. Apperantly it has a very 3D effect. The only copy I saw on ebay went for $100+... not something I can spend on 15 minutes of music. haha.
21 - Temple Stark
TT,
I moved this up and over to Advance.net, which includes these places.
Potentially read by hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Thank you for the post. - Temple Stark
22 - Deanna Szuter
I have 99% of all thier releases. All the regular releases. Only shy the first single release and a couple others. I've been a fan for 22 years, and love ALL the releases!!! I can only pray to see them live one more time in my life. You've not seen anything until you have seen them live.
23 - The Theory
well then I officially hate you... just like I hate everyone who has seen them live.
24 - The Theory
;-)
(yeah!)
25 - Malai
Well, I do not think that "My Window" is a bad track. For more sensitive listeners it is a gorgeous track. I don't need too much experimenting any more since I went through a lot of it in the past. Slow, deep, sensitive is not equal to boring, but many people think so, especially those who are in a hurry all the time and need fast, mellow music. Try to listen to e.g. Kancheli's works if you will be able to concentrate in for such a long time. Then you will probably change your attitude to slower tracks by The Residents. All the best! M.