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Troubled Hubble
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Making Beds In A Burning House
Lookout Records
Release: 5/17/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Meagan Rockne
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The addiction starts slow, but progresses fast and before you
know it you are in the throws of a full-on addiction. You still
think you can stop at any time - something better is bound
to come along and you'll move on. But that's not the case
here. Hi, my name is Meagan and I'm addicted to Troubled
Hubble's Making Beds In A Burning
House.
The addiction started gradually - it took a couple of listens
for my brain to crave this album on a daily basis. The first
listen I noticed the good qualities - nice hooks, his voice is
nice, sounds a bit like Modest Mouse. The third or fourth
listen I noticed the professional qualities - each instrument is
clear, yet it maintains cohesion, most of the songs have a
tempo change that isn't distracting, lead vocals are at the
center of each song. Then by the sixth listen, you have
noticed what makes this an amazing album - the lyrics. I
have found myself waking up with "14,000 Things to be
Happy About" stuck in my head, and not being annoyed by
it. The lyrics are smart, playful, encompassing a wide
spectrum of emotions and topics and cliche free, for the
most part. Even after you've listened to it a dozen times,
each new listen brings about something you didn't notice.
These subtleties of lyrics, instrumentation (listen for violins)
and constant tempo changes make it an amazing
album.
At times, Making Beds In A Burning House can
feel disjointed when changing from one song to the next, but
that's nit picking. It's true there are stronger songs on the
album - "Ear Nose and Throat," "Bees" and "To Be Alive and
Alone" are by far the best songs on the album. The best
song on the album however is the bonus track, "Nancy." If
someone could mainline that song into my veins, it would be
greatly appreciated. There are a few filler songs though - the
instrumental "Eat Nose and Throat Pt. II," "Even Marathon
Runners Need to Nap" and "Floribraska." These aren't
horrible songs and they don't diminish from the quality of the
album, but I feel they lack the same complexities of the
other songs on the album. But they are by no means crap.
You have to have the slightly less superior songs on the
album to make you appreciate the good ones,
right.
Making Beds In A Burning House is like crack
or cigarettes or The O.C., once I listened to it, I
was hooked. The more I listened, the more I became
addicted. I knew it was happening too. I'm a music
journalist, damn it! I should be able to resist the poppy
hooks, semi-danceable (but definitely air drum-able)
melodies and strangely attractive vocals. In fact, I'm willing
to marry the lead singer based solely on his vocal ability.
Definitely, this CD has become a guilty, but not secretive,
pleasure to listen to. |
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