Aqualung - Memory Man
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CD Details
Artist: AqualungEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-03-13
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Cinderella
- Pressure Suit
- Something To Believe In
- Glimmer
- Vapour Trail
- Rolls So Deep
- The Lake
- Black Hole
- Outside
- Garden Of Love
- Broken Bones
Music reviews of Memory Man
Music Review: Breath of Fresh Air into the 'Lung
Rating: 5 Stars
Aqualung's first release in America, Strange and Beautiful, was a compilation of his first two U.K. releases, so Memory Man is the first new material to come from Matt Hales in a few years. Well, this album is well worth the wait.
The CD opens with a big bang; the soft piano of Matt Hales is far away on the first track "Cinderella." The song still features the intelligent lyrics that Aqualung retains in all of his songs, but the new electronic effects create an incredible start for the album.
"Pressure Suit," the first single, is both catchy and smart, with a near addictive chorus and intriguing lyrics.
"Something to Believe In" is positively enchanting. From the beginning lyric to the end, where Hales' voice takes on a tone that listeners never heard on Strange and Beautiful, the song is one of the many gems on the album.
"Glimmer" is very similar to the material from Strange and Beautiful. It's soft, slow, and gorgeous.
"Vapour Trail" is my favorite track from the album. The guitar on this one really shines through, and I think Hales' vocals sound wonderful on this track.
I was hesitant to listen to a recorded version of the next track, "Rolls So Deep," after hearing a beautiful version with just Matt Hales and his piano this summer. There was nothing to worry about: the song has an incredibly uplifting tempo, and I dare you to keep this chorus from popping up in your head over and over.
"The Lake" features extremely enigmatic lyrics, and I think that the slow tempo perfectly compliments the tracks that it falls between. The ability of Hales to layer different sounds to create haunting melodies is most apparent on this track.
Aqualung's music is often compared to Keane or Coldplay. However, the next track, "Black Hole," really reminds me of U2. The electronic effects are abundant in this song, but the vocals still shine through.
"Outside" is a really lovely track. The chorus is wonderful and uplifting, and the lyrics are distinctly Aqualung's, but whereas in Strange and Beautiful this would have probably been a softer song, "Outside" has a very "rock" feel.
"Garden of Love" is a surprising song. For the first 3 1/2 minutes, it's all Matt Hales' voice and a soft, gorgeous track. However, a new vocalist, Paul Buchanan, carries the song to its finish. I think his vocals on the track are excellent.
However, Aqualung has saved the best for last with this last track. "Broken Bones" is the most sublime song that I have heard in years. One listen and you'll realize that this is the type of song that will have you hooked right off the bat.
If you enjoyed Strange and Beautiful, you'll definitely be happy to recieve Memory Man. Still, Memory Man is a more widely reaching CD as far as genres are concerned; this CD confidently reaches into rock more, and the results are terrific. This is one of the best CDs that I've bought in several years, and I think you'll definitely enjoy it.
Description of Memory Man
Memory Man, the eagerly-awaited sophomore release from British musical prodigy Aqualung arrives in stores on March 13th. Memory Man premieres 11 new Aqualung songs, each of them written or co-written by Matt Hales with his long-time collaborators Ben Hales and Kim Oliver. The first single, "Pressure Suit" is a gorgeous lo-fi, atmospheric masterpiece. Aqualung's 2005 US debut, Strange and Beautiful, reached #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart propelled by the wildly popular single "Brighter Than Sunshine."Matt Hales, a.k.a. Aqualung, isn't much of a straight shooter--as a songsmith he's a natural meanderer, and as a one-man instrumentalist he's been known to pick up everything from a siren to a glockenspiel--but he's an expert at creating mesmerizing, sophisticated pop. On 2005's Strange and Beautiful, he twisted an overall outlook marked by murkiness and lethargy into something deeply pretty, and on Memory Man, his second U.S. release, he shows off a similar mastery of mood. The new disc starts with two relatively upbeat tracks, the love-tangled first single "Pressure Suit" and the guitar-heavy, un-Aqua-like "Cinderella," but by track three Hales is back to his bag of engagingly doleful tricks: for the most part on this disc, he's "scratching around for something to believe in," as the song goes. Philosophical bent aside, Memory Man has its share of loose and un-cerebral moments, too. Last track "Broken Bones" dabbles in heavy-duty radio fuzz, and "Rolls So Deep" sidles up to a never-before-heard musical space that's equal parts Bruce Springsteen, David Byrne, and every affecting '70s ballad singer you've ever heard. --Tammy La Gorce
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