Dredg - Catch Without Arms
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CD Details
Artist: DredgEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-06-21
Music Label: Interscope Records
Soundtracks:
- Ode To The Sun
- Bug Eyes
- Catch Without Arms
- Not That Simple
- Zebraskin
- The Tanbark Is Hot Lava
- Sang Real
- Planting Seeds
- Spitshine
- Jamais Vu
- Hung Over On A Tuesday
- Matroshka (The Ornament)
Music reviews of Catch Without Arms
Music Review: Oh, what could've been
Rating: 4 Stars
SUMMER 2010 EDIT:
So I've had a good half-decade to let this one sink in, and I must say with regret that it has not exactly stood the test of time. I still maintain that the songwriting here is every bit as strong as it was on the band's 2002 masterpiece, EL CIELO, if a bit more straightforward and concise. The songs themselves are not the problem. The problem, per se, can be summed up in two words: "Terry Date" (or alternately, "dumbing down", if you like). I mentioned my reservations over the production in my initial review, but in my initial excitement over the album's long-awaited release, I failed to realize just how badly it fails to do justice to these gems.
Now, years later, I find myself queuing up low-bitrate MP3's I snagged from the band's poorly-recorded 2004 "Coquette" demos (which consist of 6 songs that would ultimately appear on CWOA) more often than the actual record. Why? Because older performances of this material were immeasurably better than the neutered versions found on CWOA, without exception. Terry Date managed to transform one of the most talented rock vocalists of the 2000's into a soulless robot on his recording, and what's worse, he threw aside the clean, layered instrumentation found on EL CIELO (as well as this album's superior successor, PARIAH) in favor of a harsh, one-dimensional guitar sound. If you haven't heard early live recordings or demos of these songs, you might think I'm crazy, or at least that I'm greatly exaggerating. I'd be willing to bet you'd agree if you did a side-by-side comparison, though.
I think the most damning evidence that the CWOA sessions were largely an exercise in dumbing down initially-strong material came in the form of the European CWOA bonus track, "Uplifting News." This song was one of my favorites from the "Coquette" demos I mentioned above. Care to guess what the band (and Terry) did with it in the studio? They completely removed the pre-chorus, which was the indisputable cornerstone of the demo version. Without it, the final recording is a monotonous throwaway hardly even worthy of inclusion as a bonus track. What a shame.
You'll notice that in spite of my rant, I've still retained 4 stars for my review. That's because I like to rate products on an absolute standard, rather than relative to the band's capabilities. Even the butchered cuts on CWOA are a lot more listenable than most rock music of our era, needless to say. But my disappointment with how these songs were handled --- particularly "Jamais Vu," "Bug Eyes," and "Sang Real," whose demo versions suggest they could've been among my top 10 songs of all time if properly executed -- is so great even after five years that I felt compelled to revisit my review.
ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM SUMMER 2005:
Potential fulfilled: that's my honest assessment of Catch Without Arms, an album I've been ravenously awaiting for well over a year now. I heard the live versions of many of these songs as early as last summer and knew that this record had the potential to be exceptional in every way, and that potential has largely been fulfilled.
Unlike several other fans here who have dismissed this album and given it "bomb" ratings due to a perceived lack of depth and deterioration from El Cielo, I find this record redeeming on every level. It's important to avoid the elitist mindset and realize that a more mainstream sound does not equate to selling out, dumbing down, or anything of the sort. So there aren't any more two-minute intrumentals between songs... what's your point? That may have fit the progressive style of El Cielo quite well, but on CWOA, the songs themselves are so strong and stand apart from one another enough that segues are not really necessary, and in my opinion would not make this any stronger a record even had they been included.
There's no need for a song-by-song breakdown and x/10 ratings here; this is such a phenomenal modern rock record that everyone reading this should be scrambling to pick up their own copy and hear it for themselves if they haven't already. I played the heck out of El Cielo over the past few years and regard it as one of the top albums of the decade thus far, but the simple fact of the matter is that its dreamy, wandering nature was not accessible to the mainstream. CATCH WITHOUT ARMS maintains the quality, musicianship, and originality that earned dredg a cult following but focuses it in more melodic, individual pieces. I don't see it as an issue of which record/method is "better" than the other; both are pleasing to the ear, but each will appeal most to a different audience. Kudos to dredg for substituting variety in where some progressive-type bands continue to churn out the same long-winded, oddly-structured songs time and time again.
A few additional comments... Terry Date's production on this album gives it a very glossy feel, which works quite well at times but also serves to spoil some select moments that were breathtaking in the old live versions. As awesome as the album version of "Bug Eyes" may be, older live versions that featured a longer, gradually building intro and overall slower tempo were all the better for it. On the flipside, tracks like "Hung Over on a Tuesday" and "Planting Seeds" are pure euphoria thanks to the smooth sound.
While every song is excellent, my personal top three picks are "Ode to the Sun," "Planting Seeds," and "Jamais Vu." CATCH WITHOUT ARMS currently shares the throne with Porcupine Tree's DEADWING as my favorite album of 2005, and is also one of my top 10 rock albums of the decade so far. Enjoy.
Description of Catch Without Arms
If you wonder too long about where to place a band like Dredg, you?ll miss where they?re going. The band slips between the cracks of whatever rock classifications you try to stuff them into. Likewise, the Bay Area is just a mailing address; Dredg isn?t evocative of any particular place or scene. So what do we make of a band that makes music that?s heavy, pretty, experimental and tuneful ? sometimes all in the same song? You can be frustrated that Dredg rejects the idea that the goal of music is to be easily described a couple of buzz words. Or with attentive ears and an open mind, you can enjoy the hell out of ?Catch Without Arms.?Alternative Rock CDs
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