In 1999, one of my favorite albums of the decade came out, The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips. I drenched myself in its excesses, wrapped its warmth around my body and ingested its bittersweet flavor of joyful relevance. It was outlandish and downright silly at times but its lush landscape still had a keen taste and pure and simple songwriting strength. Floatation Toy Warning’s new album Bluffers Guide To The Flight Deck follows in the footsteps of The Flaming Lips but may be following too close to distinguish themselves from their fellow landscape artists.
When I first popped in FTW’s disc, I had not heard much from the band. I knew they were on Misra, which I think could be one of the most exciting new labels out there, so they already scored points with me and I knew they had been compared to The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy. This, although flattering for any band, could be a death sentence. When dealing with specific styles of music that are defined by a few pioneering bands, being compared to said bands is not necessarily a recipe for success. In fact, more often than not, bands hardly live up to the characterization and don’t compare to their musical matches. What happens is the descriptor that was meant for promotion of the new bands style defines them so much that they can only be a mediocre version of the pioneering band. Thus you get this specific scenario:
“Hey have you heard our band?”
No, what do you sound like?
We people say that we kinda sound like The Flaming Lips or Grandaddy.”
Oh, cool. (Why don’t I just go listen to the Flaming Lips or Grandaddy then?)
However, there are some rare instances in which the artist still has some merit, or that they are horribly misrepresented and really do have their own style. I gave it an even shot. On first listen, I wasn’t disappointed. The album has a flowing meander that originates in its warm tone and is accentuated by its repetitive patterns and careful orchestration. It doesn’t actually require the full of attention of the listener to be appreciated and serves a cool night of reading and wine sipping well. However, problems arise when the formerly good-natured listener puts the same disc in the next day with a shortened attention span; He is forced to party shuffle. The songs on Bluffers Guide are well meaning and sweet enough but they lose relevance with a second listen. While moments of brilliance find their ways into many of the seven-minute journeys, those moments get beat to death with repetition. Individually the songs still hold that subtle attractiveness that could be mix tape worthy but the album as a whole sounds flusters and loses steam half way through.
It’s true, Floatation Toy Warning kinda sound like The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, and in reality they are a talented and promising band. But their similarities could be the worst thing that has happened for the band, because they aren’t near as good as their predecessors. |