The Bedlam in Goliath favorite song

 

I have to disagree with this. They have been getting less accessible with each subsequent album. The first two albums were much more melodic and harmonic than the past two. Bedlam is loaded with dissonant vocal harmonies and guitar/sax riffs/solos, bombastic drums, vocal effects and so on. It's like they are trying to be inaccessible. I think the fluidity only has an effect on how quickly you get through the album, or how quickly it seems, rather. No doubt The Bedlam feels shorter than it is because of this, but I think you need to get into the sound before that really matters.

 

I still think the band does their best in the areas where Cedric is singing naturally (no effects, and without his often ridiculous harmonies), the bass and drums lock into a groove and the general dissonance is contained. This occurs in the mid-section of Metatron, most of Goliath, the second half of Agadez, most of Ouroborous, Soothsayer and Conjugal Burns. I don't think all of the crazy parts are bad, but they certainly don't have the same sheer power. There is just too much chaos to handle a lot of the time for it to have much of an emotional effect on you. I still love the band and their recent work, but I definitely feel like they are their best when they don't overdo it.

 

"Metatron," of course, has the added benefit of some real emotion (from the Volta no less) in the "Maybe I'll break down" line, and I'm rather fond of the album's opener and closer. But "Goliath" for the win.

 

I might as well clarify my stance on Tourniquet Man and Cavalettas now, too. I like both of the songs, and at least 6 out of 7 times I listen to the record I will listen to them, but often times when I'm in a pinch or I'm sharing the material with someone else I will skip them. No doubt they are not what the band is capable of, but they are not bad.