What 'pop' music should be. Dark and haunting...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Dynamic, dissonant, subtle, synesthetic bliss.

Cons: A song or two seems out of place.

The Bottom Line: 
Get it! I don't care what type of music you like. Get it and listen with an open mind.

Author's Review
Looking back on my favorite albums I realized that 90% of what I love today I simply tolerated when I first heard it. The music

that is really good takes a while to sink in. You might have to listen to it 10 times before you latch onto what it's all about, but

when you finally do it's so worth it. I've found this to be true with "Fumbling Towards Esctasy".

This album isn't the kind of thing that I would normally listen to. For the past few years my tastes have centered around

bands like Tool, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, etc... While these are all great bands, I have just recently started to explore all that

music has to offer. This includes getting into artists like Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Massive Attack, and Sarach McLachlan.

I first heard her music like most people. I heard the singles Adia, Angel, Sweet Surrender, etc... This is when she really broke

into the public eye. I never was blown away by the music enough to go out and pick it up though. Then a few years later I

bought FTE on a whim. At first listen I thought, "well, it's not bad, but it's kind of a let down." One month later I've turned a

180. This is one of THE best albums ever.

Unlike most "pop" albums that rely on cliche beats and cold samples FTE is rich with texture and dynamics. The overall mood

is one of simmering emmotion. That emmotion ranges from fear, to anger, to inspiration. It's all there. What I do find interesting

about this album though is how divided I am with certain songs. The songs that are good are REALLY good, yet the "bad"

songs are really bad...

1. Possession (9/10)
GREAT opening track. After a while a dissonant driving bass line comes in and Sarah's vocals descend on it with an

unexpected melody in the line "And I will hold you down". A "pop" singer who uses tone, dynamics, and dissonance. THAT

is what I love about this album.

2. Wait (9/10)
Another great track. The feeling here is subtle. As always the lyrics are great, but it's the melody and phrasing that I love

about this song. When the second verse comes in Sarah's voice has more of a cold sheen to it. Beautiful...

3. Plenty (10/10)
If the intro doesn't send chills up your spine then nothing will. A subsonic bass tone swells in and out as Sarah's voice

blends in to wrap around it. Great dynamics.

4. Good Enough (6/10)
One of the songs that I'm not crazy about. It's not "bad" though.

5. Mary (7/10)
Same goes for this one. :)

6. Elsewhere (11/10)
THE best song on the album. The entire song seems to be nothing but one big set up for this line: "Oh quiet child awaits the

day that she can break free." The way that line comes in will haunt you forever. It's melody is fairly monotone but filled with

micro-tonal fluctuations that few singers can pull off. This is emmotion in it's purest form. For some reason this song and the

movie "Leon: The Professional" fit together in synesthetic perfection.

7. Circle (?/10)
I honestly haven't listened to this enough to judge it.

8. Ice (9/10)
Haunting song! The lyrics here are some of the best. "angels speak with jilted tounges, the serpant's tail has come undone."

"underneath my lucid skin." Listen to the bass line in the chorus. It consists of 4 notes. Listen to the 4th note after she sings

"Only a fool was here". It's a step higher than the measures before it and really floods the song with a mystical eastern tone.

9. Hold On (?/10)
I haven't listened to this enough to judge it either. Sorry.

10. Ice Cream (2/10)
Hmmm....whatever. I get what she's going for, but it comes across a bit too tacky.

11. Fear (8/10)
Great intro! The rest of the song is average. But great intro.

12. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (?/10)
I haven't listened to this enough to judge it either. Sorry.....again. :)