The Czars make their eagerly-awaited return superb third album, Goodbye, the follow-up to The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People, which was released to great critical-acclaim in autumn 2001. Goodbye is filled with incredible songs notable for their rich production, high levels of musicianship and, of course, John Grant's beautiful baritone vocals, painting broad textures over dense sonic space. Lyrically, the album deals with themes of loss, regret and change. It begins with a haunting piano solo, lightly sketching out the structure of the astonishing title track. Goodbye is an exploration of feelings and emotions that are often in conflict with one another. Sometimes angry, sometimes tender, always inspired, it is hard to imagine a band who can match The Czars for power, gravity and grace. As an artistic endeavour for The Czars it is the statement of a group that has reached both a sonic and aesthetic maturity. Bella Union. 2004.
Review by Alex Henderson
The Czars' reflective, sometimes jazz-tinged alternative pop/rock is a lot like a day that is overcast without being flat-out rainy; some rays of sunlight manage to break through the clouds, but the clouds still dominate the sky. And the Czars' work isn't growing any less melancholy on Goodbye, the Denver band's third full-length album. This 2004 release isn't an exercise in total hopelessness; Czars frontman John Grant is diligently searching for reasons to be optimistic, but unfortunately, he isn't finding them. What Grant does find is a certain beauty in that mostly cloudy forecast -- a melancholy sort of beauty, but beauty nonetheless. The sort of bittersweet beauty you might find in, say, a relatively good forecast for London in the middle of December or January. No one who visits the U.K. during the dead of winter expects an abundance of 80-degree days with consistently bright sunshine; similarly, no one expects a Czars album to be an exercise in feel-good escapism. But if you find yourself in London during the winter and are able to enjoy a rain-free day -- even if the sky has more clouds than sun -- there can be a certain melancholy beauty at work. And that's what Goodbye feels like; this isn't a cheerful album by any means, but it certainly isn't ugly music either. A talented alternative pop/rock/adult alternative craftsman, the world-weary Grant has no problem finding something poetic in all the disappointments, remorse, and cynicism he expresses. One thing that Goodbye and other Czars albums lacks is immediacy; their work is subtle and understated, not obvious. But for those who don't insist on immediate gratification, Goodbye can be a rewarding illustration of the group's bittersweet artistry.
|
