| CD REVIEW Blue October |
|
|
Band : Blue October Even when you're an all-round music-lover with more than 40 years of collecting and a music journalist for about 35 years, little miracles happen on a somewhat regular frequency. In this case, I had never heard of this Austin, TX based Indie/ Alternative Rock act, even though they've existed for more than 15 years, and this is their 9th album. Three of which may have been live albums, but 6 of which were distributed by major label Universal. Ehhhrrr, maybe that's what's been wrong about this band then...because the Belgian branch of the label is actually rather stingy with whom they send promo material to (and the only reason why we at the site occasionally review stuff by 'em is because our editor-in-chief knows the people in person, occasionally goes on a visit, and is then able to pry off some material from the dudes). Anyways, this is supposed to be about Blue October, formed in 1995 in a different line-up from today [original members Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocals, songwriting, guitar), his brother Jeremy (drums & percussion) and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye (violin, viola, mandolin, keyboards, piano, and backing vocals) are today accompanied by lead guitarist Julian Mandrake and bassist/ backing vocalist Matt Noveskey]. Still managed by the brothers parental management RoDan Entertainment, the band released its debut album The Answers in 1998, which sold over 5,000 copies in Houston alone (their then still homebase). Through fan-based connections the band then got onto several early-morning news performances, and eventually former Kid Rock manager Michael Rand “discovered” them. Not only did the latter see to it that the band got booked for some 350 gigs while still unsigned, but he also brought the band under the attention of Universal, after the band had recorded their second album Consent To Treatment,which was released in August 2000. In 2001 the band relocated to Austin, and the following year they were dropped by the label. BO then recruited a new lead guitarist in C.B. Hudson, and recorded and self-released their 3rd album History For Sale, which was a reaction to the ways how their former label tried to control every aspect of the band. In a turn of events, sales of the album were larger than expected, and the band got re-signed by Universal under better conditions...with a re-issue of the album in April 2003 as a result. Larger exposition of the band's music came with their single “Calling You” being incorporated into the soundtrack of the popular movie American Wedding and well as on the 3rd episode of The CW show Life Is Wild. The band also started to get radio airplay in Dallas. In September 2004 followed the band's first live album Argue With A Tree, and this in turn was followed by the band's 4th studio album Foiled in April 2006. Promotion of the album through prime time television shows such as The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the Late Night Show With Conan O'Brien brought the band to the attention of an ever growing fanbase, as did a support slot for Rolling Stones in Boise, Odaho, in November 2006. Where the band before was limiting its live outings to Texas, and parts of the Southwest and Midwest of the USA, the guys now saw their tour possibilities expand to the whole of the North-American continent, Hawaii, Mexico, and several countries in Europe (England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and even Holland). The album would eventually get Platinum status in both the US and Canada. Profiting of the band's growing popularity, Universal again released a live album, Foiled For The Last Time, in September 2007. Meanwhile, things were brewing at home in the band's frontman Justin's family, when his marriage grew sour, leading to a divorce and a tough custody fight over the couple's daughter. In 2008, while BC was continuing work on the band's 5th studio album Approaching Normal (eventually released in March 2009), Justin took the advice of some of the good people around him at heart, and started the writing process of what would eventually become Any Man In America, using the expression of anger, fury, disillusion, but most importantly, the love for his daughter, as a cathartic means to get over being screwed over by the American way of justice concerning custody fights in divorce cases. Meantime, the band again freed itself from Universal (they were offered a good new deal, but preferred to go independent instead) and released the live album (recorded during a series of acoustic gigs in July 2010) Ugly Side : An Acoustic Evening With Blue October through the Brando imprint, in May 2011. Any Man In America itself, was recorded between Summer 2010 and March 2011 under productional guidance of Tim Palmer (whom had previously worked with the likes of David Bowie, Robert Plant, The Cure, U2, and Pearl Jam). It was already released in the US through the band's own Up/Down Records (with distribution from RED Distribution, a Sony Music imprint for independent artists) on August 16 of late. This now several weeks behind us, we can already talk about some of the reactions to the new album, which has a slightly different musical approach from what BO did in the past. In spite of moderate praise from the media, the album topped the Amazon.com and iTunes album download charts, and sold over 27,000 copies in its first release. It became the band's highest charting album, even though the two previous albums actually sold more copies in their first week of release. Anyway...Any man In America is a very nice concept album indeed, set in a somewhat Progressive Rock meets Indie style which, in combination with Justin's vocal stylings, occasionally brings out reminiscences to the likes of Peter Gabriel and early Marillion (but in the latter case actually more in the vocal department). Obviously, the angrier vocal parts stand on their own. There's some nice incorporations of voicemail stuff in some of the songs (notably so in the centerpiece “The Flight (Lincoln To Minneapolis)”. Feeling the album needed to end on a positive note, and wanting a female voice to convey the uplisfting message, we find Patricia Lynn of The Soldier Thread in a duet with Justin during album closer “The Follow Through”. It is a message to all men in America whom suffer the same kind of events, a message that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel...that one càn indeed get through all the hardship! Okay, time to tell y'all where you can listen to some music off the album. There's off course the 30-second samples of all 13 album tracks, to be found at both iTunes and Amazon.com, but for full-length versions of some songs, you'll have to turn to (www.) myspace.com/blueoctober, where the band posted first single “The Chills” as well as a video for the track “The Feel Again (Stay)” alongside 4 songs off older albums. For the video clip of “The Chills”, log onto the band's own website (http://) blueoctober.com/amiaalbum. Great album! 94/100 Tony. |
