SING TO GOD

I was first introduced to the Cardiacs by way of Youtube videos for "Tarred and Feathered" and "RES". Both videos feature manic, zombie soldiers hitting each other or themselves while playing DEVO/Stickmen meet Gentle Giant type music; seemingly a precursor to groups like Mr. Bungle. I went and got "A Little Man and a House..." and was pleased to find exactly what I was looking for: a spastic, genre hopping prog/punk group with ambitious studio production and an occasional pop sensibility to boot. However, I mostly treated it as an important historical moment, rather than something I'd want to really listen to more than a couple times.

A few months passed and after reading some reviews on Amazon about how great "Sing To God" was, I managed to get my hands on a copy. Now, in this age of free music, it's easy for me to brush off a lot of great, forgotten or obscure bands. But on first ipod listening while walking across the city (Philadelphia) I had to pick my jaw up off the ground at least five times. This double album is a monster of creative, insane, epic, punk, prog, and incredible art pop. It seems to me that their creativity and understanding of song craft reached a fever pitch, practically exploding out of the stereo on every song. "Dirty Boy" is a masterpiece. I listened to it 3 times in a row to really let it sink in. Where their earlier efforts touched on moments of pop, this album effortlessly blends soaring melodies with a hyper focused barrage that hadn't quite come together until this moment. Tim Smith's grating punk affect takes a backseat to confident melodic shifts without losing any sense of urgency; in fact creating more tension and propulsion in the compositions.

The only thing I can really compare this album to is if XTC were jettisoned through an unstable wormhole and ripped apart by neon lazer canons. It's beautiful, disturbing, pumped up and it's one of the greatest double albums I've ever heard. Go get it.