FFWD Weekly
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Secret Samadhi
Radioactive / Universal· Third disc for Pennsylvania band whose debut, Mental Jewelry and follow-up Throwing Copper were both produced by Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads). This time they used producer Jay Healy, who did some early demo work with the band.
· Some of the titles suggest the band has been faithfully reading the Bhagavad-Gita. Songs get a little mystical at times, but there's no real expounding of Hindu virtue.
Listening back to their first album, it's hard to believe it's the same band. Ed Kowalczyk didn't quite know how to sing yet and, musically, the band sounded uncomfortable with quasi-dance-techno rhythms as a backdrop to many of the songs. It was the second disc, '94's Throwing Copper, that really saw the band develop a sound of their own. Ed had developed a firmer grasp of his unique voice and its gritty angst, while the band started playing with rising and falling intensity levels within their songs. "Copper" spawned several successful singles and huge sales figures.
On Secret Samadhi, the band has smoothed out some of the raw edges in their sound. Vocalist / lyricist Kowalczyk's unique voice has, in the past, had a tendency to sound overly-tormented, with off-the-scale angst readings that were not always totally in sync with, or appropriate for, the essence of the song. But he seems very aware of this now and manages to successfully capture some more diverse vocal performances with qualities and stylings not yet ripe on the band's previous two albums.
It's the kind of record that may take several listens before it clicks. Some of the slow songs are quite beautiful, filled with depth and emotion. A pleasant surprise from a generally gritty rock band. Songs like "Ghost," with its haunting introspection, or the child-like innocence of "Turn My Head" make this album worthwhile. And by the way, they still convey angst rather well.
3 out of 5
Zenon West
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