SING TO GOD

There are very few albums I can listen to more than once or twice per week. Most of the time I end up waiting even two weeks between listens of my favorite albums, both because I enjoy listening to a variety of music and because I don't want the albums to get worn out for me. On occasion, though, I find some here and there which I can listen to nonstop. At first, this album was one I didn't listen to more than once a year, but for whatever reason it's really clicked with me lately and now I've listened to it three times in two days (well, I'm partway through my third listen, but you get the idea). I don't know what exactly it is about this album, but I can't get enough of it. I absolutely LOVE what Tim and crew did on this album. Maybe it's the incredibly diverse mix of styles/elements in their music, maybe it's their energy...most likely it's the indescribable, incredible genius of Tim Smith really displaying itself for all to see. Such true Genius (yes, with a capital G) is a very rare thing in rock music, I think. Very few other people really "do it" on the same level as Tim seems to be able to - for me, he's right up there with Christian Vander and Tatsuya Yoshida in my trinity of most revered musical minds. Anyway, I suppose I should get onto the album at some point in this review...

What exactly is this album like, you might ask...I'd tell you it's like punk, prog, classic rock, modern rock, and about 1000 other things combined (though in my opinion in an entirely different way than the combinations made by Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, etc) and wholly unlike anything else. It is, if I may say so, one of those very rare cases of musical perfection. The album can be IN YOUR FACE, it can be subdued, it can be anywhere in between, and it manages to pull of just the right mixture of it all. Some tracks are good beyond words (for example, I agree with Russell about "Dirty Boy", it's one of the most amazing tracks I've ever had the good fortune of listening to), others are "just" amazing. My first exposure to the band was the track "Fiery Gun Hand" which is available to listen to here at PA, and that one hooked me right away - the bizarro atmosphere, the high energy, and the completely astounding guitar solo worked together really well for me. Other tracks (including "Dirty Boy") took many, many listens to truly love, but now I think the album would be sorely lacking if it missed even the shortest of tracks on display here. I guess that to sum up what I'm trying to say here in one sentence, I'd have to say something like "I'm so incredibly in love with this album that I can't even begin to describe it." I don't have much else by the Cardiacs yet, but very soon now (thanks to the current availability on iTunes) I'm going to expand my collection, and most likely I'll end up writing more glowing, completely biased reviews of their albums.

Again, as Russell said - be careful...it's very easy to become addicted to this album. I'm assuming most of you can guess (even if you didn't see the rating before reading this) that I consider this a true masterpiece. Five stars isn't enough, but I suppose it'll have to do.

P.S. Be willing to give this album a good amount of listens. It is definitely a grower, and it's well worth the time.