Dear and Headlights was an indie rock band based in Arizona, being active from 2005 until 2011. They only released two full length albums, and Drunk Like Bible times is the latter of the pair.
Lyrically the band shifts from relatable to complex. Making references to relationship troubles, or something as universal as feeling lost in the world, one can feel the personal side to what singer Ian Metzger is saying. There are also more in depth lyrical themes. For example, the song Carl Solomon Blues was inspired by and references a Allen Ginsberg poem.
I know not all of you like to focus on lyrics in an album, so I wanted to pick something that has both interesting writing, but also instrumentation. I believe that can be found here. While not overly complex, they create driving backdrops that are more ear catching than the general indie rock fare. I can’t speak for the drumming, but I find the guitar work very entertaining.
Overall, this is an album I adore. The last two songs meld together into an emotional ending that when listened to in the context of the whole piece shows a large personal development in the band. I don’t want to give it away really, but the ending pair is one of my favorites ever. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do, but if you don’t, I’ll still like you.
Lyrically the band shifts from relatable to complex. Making references to relationship troubles, or something as universal as feeling lost in the world, one can feel the personal side to what singer Ian Metzger is saying. There are also more in depth lyrical themes. For example, the song Carl Solomon Blues was inspired by and references a Allen Ginsberg poem.
I know not all of you like to focus on lyrics in an album, so I wanted to pick something that has both interesting writing, but also instrumentation. I believe that can be found here. While not overly complex, they create driving backdrops that are more ear catching than the general indie rock fare. I can’t speak for the drumming, but I find the guitar work very entertaining.
Overall, this is an album I adore. The last two songs meld together into an emotional ending that when listened to in the context of the whole piece shows a large personal development in the band. I don’t want to give it away really, but the ending pair is one of my favorites ever. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do, but if you don’t, I’ll still like you.
This album has highlights for me but generally speaking it didn't particularly move me in any way. Really great musical composition in general - I like the hints of folk and you can also hear the influences of punk rock. I enjoyed the last handful of songs a lot more, I think they seemed more put together for me than the first few songs.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I preferred the tracks that were slower and more ballad-y, the instrumentation felt more precise and it was easier to focus more on the lyrics (you realize how this is a pretty emotional album once you're able to listen to the lyrics). I loved the beginning and verses of Saintly Rows, and like some of the other songs, I became lost during the the chorus. I think this is because I never was able to get into shouty vocals (in songs like Now It's Over and Talk About), but when the singer brought it down a few levels it became easier to like (for me, personally).
All in all not a bad record by any means, I can tell why you like it. This probably won't be a record I come back to but it wasn't difficult for me to listen to either.
Ok so I SLACKED on this one big time, sorry, but I got 2 or 3 pretty distracted listens in today. I can tell I'm going to enjoy it a ton because it has all the elements I love in an album but I haven't been able to pay enough attention to distinguish between songs or listen to lyrics yet. It actually reminded me a bit of listening to Friend and Foe in some ways, which is obviously a good thing. Definitely glad to have this one added to my spotify collection and can't wait to give it a more serious listen! The lyrics will be great if they're anywhere near as emotionally powerful as the vocals.
ReplyDeleteGood job, tyty.
This album conjures up many many early to mid 2000s indie rock albums and bands, but the closest comparison I could think of are the White Rabbits. Similar guitar and driving percussion. There's also some Spoon, Arctic Monkeys, and even a bit of Arcade Fire (If Not For My Glasses, just listen to it and you'll know what I mean). But these are just surface comparisons - really, this band has a fairly unique sound in the genre it occupies.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the opening trio of songs quite a bit, but then the album starts to lose me in the middle as things begin to blend in to one another - with the exception of Talk About. There are some really cool electronic textures towards the end of that song. Around Parallel Lines, I got sucked back in. The closer was a really solid closing song. I'm kind of a sucker for choruses in indie music so this certainly appealed to me.
There's some nifty guitar work in there; Tyler, I understand why you like it, as someone who plays guitar. I had no problems with the drums nor did I find them to be spectacular - the drummer holds a good beat and throws in some creative flourish here and there but is by and large just the mechanism by which this album keeps on chuggin'.
I didn't listen to the lyrics. I never do. I'm sure they were cool or whatever. Surprisingly, the singer's voice didn't piss me off - in fact, it fit pretty well with the music. There were certainly times where I wished he might tone it down a bit, but overall, I enjoyed this album.
Will I listen again? Probably. I don't think it's going to become part of my "rotation", whatever that means, but I enjoyed it and it's a good listen if you want something a bit more upbeat but still substantive.
I had a pretty good time with this album every time I listened to it. I thought I'd definitely get sick of the lead's voice by the end of the album, but the song composition is varied enough where it doesn't ever seem too stale. That said, I'm still not a huge fan of the singing style, but it's at least bearable in this instance.
ReplyDeleteI really liked a lot of the melodies on this album; they make it a little easier to listen to, and I'd say they're the album's strong point for me. Although, I didn't really get around to interpreting the lyrics, so I apologize if I'm missing any Shakespearian-level writing here.
I'd say that this album is good, but not great. It has a lot going for it, but... it's missing something, which I'm not particularly sure of.
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ReplyDeleteOk, so without the weekend i haven't been able to dig into this album as much as I'd like in order to give real in-depth thoughts. Specifically, I didn't really get a good listen to the lyrics despite your praise for them. It's just something I usually only listen for on later plays...
ReplyDeleteI will say that this album grew on me with each listen. On the first play it came off as, maybe not generic, but as something I felt like I'd heard before. I got a Born Ruffians vibe from some of the earlier songs' structures which I can't quite explain.
I enjoyed the instrumentation a lot on this record. I thought the guitar work was varied throughout the album and it often caught me off guard in a good way. Sections of Willetta (and to a lesser extent Flowers For My Brain) felt almost like they were being backed by a post-rock band in that they set an expansive and soaring landscape for the song. I also remember being impressed by the number of different instruments I heard throughout the album.
As far as the vocals themselves go, I found myself a little annoyed with them before the end. I liked the lead's voice for the first few tracks, but after a while the feeling waned. I love artists that aren't afraid to shout and really let their emotion shine through, but in this case I felt like it was a little overdone. Also, because I was so impressed with the instrumentation I was a little disappointed that it seemed to take a back seat to the vocals.
The closing track, I Know, was great! Probably my favorite off of the album. I will probably listen to this album more when I'm in the mood for it.