12 Do The Collapse

 

Introduction

First thing to note: after Under The Bushes largely eschewed the array of shorter, experimental interludes that had (mostly to great effect) populated the preceeding albums; Tonics & Twisted Chasers had almost entirely reversed that trend; Mag Earwhig! sat somewhere between the two approaches. Here, we seem to be back in Under The Bushes territory, with 16 songs that are of generally conventional structure, and almost all in the roughly two to four minute bracket.

Secondly, I noted that the production on Under The Bushes sounded 'way more expensive and conventional than any of the earlier albums.' This is again true with Do The Collapse. Even more so, in fact: there's a very professional sheen to the whole thing; it sounds like it had a lot of time and money spent on it.

The Album

Complicated

That's not to say that production quality is proxy for how good the album is - either way. It is true that the lo-fi aesthetic of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes is a key element of their appeal; but a bit of money spent in the studio didn't stop Under The Bushes being, as I put it, 'crammed with breathtakingly good tunes.' Do The Collapse certainly has good tunes, but neither 'crammed' nor 'breathtakingly' seem like entirely appropriate terms here. 

Pick of the bunch is 'Liquid Indian', which has a chorus that transcends its simplicity by virtue of its swirling, stately dreaminess - an effect bolstered by the delicious little climbing pattern that precedes it. The song achieves this despite the fact that the verse (which features some trademark abstract poeticism: 'arcane offices delivering deluxe information'; 'soft clay orifice quivering like new structures and formations') feels like little more than a vehicle to get you to the chorus.

'Teenage FBI' is an impressively taut and crisp power-pop number that sounds like Weezer covering The Cars. A meditation on the effects of peer pressure (was Avril Lavigne influenced by the line 'when you're around me / I'm somebody else' whilst composing 'Complicated'?), it has 'attempt at breakthrough mainstream hit' written all over it, but is none the worse for that.

The lifting of lighters into the air

I found myself a little conflicted about the merits of 'Hold On Hope', a song that I was slightly startled to come across when watching old episodes of Scrubs. At first, I was happy to bathe in the warm glow of its uplifting, yearning atmosphere. But it does feel a little calculated, designed to stimulate the lifting of lighters into the air. It also has the air of mid-period REM (i.e. post-Lifes Rich Pageant, when they stopped being vital). Furthermore, my wife slightly dulled my enthusiasm for the song, by commenting that it 'sounds like Oasis.' It's true that it is quite easy to imagine Liam singing the song, and whilst I remain fond of it, it's hard to shake off the imaginary sound of it being delivered in a Mancunian sneer.

Several others feel a little like they're striving for a stadium audience. 'Picture Me Big Time' meanders ponderously at times, but also has a bluesy refrain that gives it a little edge. The lively tempo shifts of 'Things I Will Keep' help it bubble along energetically, although there's something resolutely predictable about it, especially the guitar solos. The more downtempo 'Mushroom Art' (which features yet another reference to crows) mainly consists of a carefully-paced, coiling riff but can't help but head off into more anthemic territory ('Happy the universe...')

In search of an identity

The album has plenty of tracks that fall into the 'solid but not exactly spectacular' category. 'Surgical Focus', 'Optical Hopscotch', 'Much Better Mr. Buckles' and 'Strumpet Eye' are all decent, catchy tunes. However, there's a nagging sense that they're first and foremost a good GBV-esque title in search of an identity. 

'Zoo Pie' has a harder edge, combining a stealthy verse with a rollicking chorus, although the title is a great deal more interesting than the rather tossed-off lyric, which largely consists of 'come on, baby, do it / to me, you can do it.' 'In Stiches' grinds along determinedly, if slightly laboriously, although it's lifted somewhat by some nicely grinding solo guitar and airy prog-like passages with one of those vaguely dystopian lyrics ('permanent holy wars dissolve and crash on the red horizon').

The album concludes with the bustling, exuberant 'An Unmarketed Product', the only song to fall well below the two-minute mark. It's a concise little burst of punk-pop that executes a simple idea with aplomb, and works well as an album closer.

Eager to please

The LP's weakest moments suffer from an overdose of whimsy and lightweight froth. 'Dragons Awake!' is saccharine and twee, with - and apologies if I'm reading too much into it - an uncomfortably prurient lyric ('sprinkle the pearls over the ham'). And does he really say 'softer tits'?

'Wormhole' has an almost nursery rhyme quality, and is packed with rock guitar clichés. The incongruity of the lyric's dark imagery ('the soil is rich and muddy in the riverbed / feed on the urgent promise of the dead tonight') doesn't rescue it. The twiddly guitar line of 'Wrecking Now' is overly eager to please and the chorus is anaemically nonedescript. The syrupy strings try gamely to gel the song together, but it all collapses into a damp heap.

In Conclusion...

Overall, Do The Collapse feels like an album that's just trying too hard. There's nothing wrong with attempting to expand your audience, but ultimately the album feels at times a little soulless and empty. The occasionally intrusive strings, jaunty melodies and rather too obvious bids for stadium appeal detract from some potentially interesting material.

Added to the 'GBV Favourites' playlist: 

Only three songs make it this time: the smallest number so far (up to this point, it was Sandbox with four):

• Teenage FBI
• Hold On Hope
• Liquid Indian

Album rank:

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