MUSIC ZONE
Zero 7 — When It Falls (Elektra)
Saurabh & Gaurav

When It Falls is full of songs about break-ups, and also about reconciliation and finding strength in those we love the most. On Speed Dial No 2, Furler, whose voice has a unique elasticity declares, "I don’t need you anymore," to a failed partner. Beginning with the slight call of bells and chimes before settling into a slow groove, the album’s opener, Warm Sound, presents one of the band’s four featured vocalists, with Mozez, in top form. It’s pleasing to the ear and proved a nice diversion from some of the more experimental works we’ve listened to lately.

This live concert set, initially released in 1982, somehow slipped between the cracks, making Stop Making Sense the only easily available live album by Talking Heads. This year, finally, The Name of this Band is made available to the listeners, and it definitely is worth the wait.

The first disc, which features the original quartet, is brilliantly expanded with the original LP sequencing completely intact and all the bonus tracks coming between the LP sides (except for Heaven, the perfect album closer). The second disc borrows a page from Stop Making Sense’s playbook and recreates the entire set from stops along the band’s Remain in Light tour, including a handful of tracks from the much-bootlegged February 1981 performance at Tokyo’s Nakano Sun Palace. Highly recommended.

Allison Moorer abandons the glossy textures and pop friendly hooks of her last album Miss Fortune for a grittier, more lived-in sound on The Duel. The rough edges haven’t been sanded down: the guitars are crunchier throughout, and R.S. Field’s production is suitably unvarnished. On the title song, her cries of lost faith rise out of a murky soundscape sculpted solely by Steve Conn’s piano and Sonny Red’s bleak harmonica lines. The sound of The Duel fits Moorer’s lyrical concerns to a T, from issues of faith (the impassioned Believe You Me) to a dying person’s request to hear a lullaby as darkness settles (the achingly sad Sing Me to Sleep). Centerpiece All Aboard opens with a slow, chugging bass and tense beat, and closes with a wobbly, winding jam. The Duel is a fine statement of purpose as to where Allison’s future musical directions are headed.

American ‘pop’ punk is maturing. Taking on elements from hardcore and other ‘core categories, Florida’s New Found Glory has grown up too, with lyrics more aggressive and real. Intro kicks the album off in style, a thrashing hardcore anthem complete with shouted group vocals.All Downhill From Here, the first single to be taken from the album, is back in the softer punk sound, but still hints at something darker. I Don’t Wanna Know features a sweeping string arrangement, elsewhere, beyond the occasional flirtation with drum programming, piano, and the irresistible new wave influence in late-album standout No New Is Good News, New Found Glory stays with its old standby blend of catchy punk-pop inflected with nu-metal.

Worst track: Failure’s Not Flattering;

Album of the month

One of the more interesting things about Air is that they have the ability to fashion their music after a given stylistic period without sounding even remotely anachronistic. For those who could not handle the highly complicated 10,000 Hz Legend, Talkie Walkie should tame your frustrations. The first few sounds of the opening Venus are gripping – with reverb and echo thrown everywhere. Godrich’s influence can also be felt on Mike Mills, one of the only two instrumental tracks on the album. Alone in Kyoto, the track donated to Sofia Coppola’s latest film Lost in Translation closes out the album. The song, does a tremendous job of living up to its name, introducing a metropolis that is both overwhelming and distant.

This feature was published on September 4, 2004