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Although many bands conceive of their music in spiritual
terms, few of them expand these thoughts to the level of religious
movements. They have little reason to; music in general has
become detached and ironic enough that few listeners would
trust musicians to inform their spiritual beliefs. With their
efforts over the last two years, The Polyphonic Spree
have attempted to reverse this trend by spreading not only
their music but a gospel of sorts. Their songs serve as an
outline of sorts for developing a personal ethic manifest
in the act of making and witnessing music. In their studio
work and live performances, the twenty-something musicians
of the Spree create an atmosphere of optimism and inspiration
that encourages spiritual participation. Critics have often
described their experience as one bordering on religious devotion
if not ecstasy. The success of this Dallas band in delivering
a spiritual dimension to an irreligious musical culture can
be attributed to their unique ethic, one that places an emphasis
on participation above observance, presence over distance.
Religious devotion inherently poses a problem of presence
versus detachment. The act of worship in most religious structures
requires a special attention to a spiritual world that lies
in some way outside of the material world that makes up our
“regular” lives. In striving to be present to this spiritual
realm, we cannot help but become detached from the material
world. This exchange between the two spheres gives rise to
questions of responsibility: does attentiveness to one realm
forgive negligence of the other? at what point does the worshipper
become irresponsible to the material world rather than merely
unaware? The events of September 11, 2001 provide the most
striking and palpable answer to these questions. Those acts
of religious devotion clearly represent a mentality so clouded
in bad faith and irresponsibility as to make the questions
redundant. Drawing an acceptable line, however, proves much
more difficult.
Perhaps inadvertently, The Polyphonic Spree seem to be searching
their way through this problem on The Beginning Stages Of... , their 2001 debut release. This album was conceived
and recorded in 2000 yet seems highly appropriate in terms
of the events of 2001. Critics have been wont to decry the
Spree’s album and live performances as the answer to a music
industry trapped in its own cynicism and uninspired products. Although
it would be hard to argue that this choral symphonic pop ensemble
is not thoroughly moving, any claim of religious fanaticism
as the answer to anything seems shaky in this world climate. This
is not to equate rock music with terrorism, but rather to
ask in what ways might giving oneself completely to music
as spiritual act lead to irresponsibility. The Spree answer
this question by utilizing the ethic described above. The Beginning Stages Of... incorporates ideas of participation
and presence as a means to avoid spiritual irresponsibility.
The album’s strongest claim becomes one of complete responsibility
as sanctioned by an unusual but deep spiritual foundation. The
beauty of The Polyphonic Spree comes not just in its role
as a bright light in the music industry (these bright spots
exist all over the place in nooks and crannies that the industry
will never discover) but as a phenomenon that deconstructs
religious fanaticism and recreates it as an endeavor fit for
a free and just society.
If this seems too grand a project to attribute to a rock
album, welcome to the world of The Polyphonic Spree and frontman
Tim DeLaughter, former member of the Tripping Daisy. Inspired
by the sound of his voice reverberating from a fan, DeLaughter
formed the Spree after the death of Tripping Daisy guitarist
Wes Berggren. Although DeLaughter has claimed this
project as a longtime interest, the particular energy of the
music seems heavily informed by a sense of tragedy, a metaphysical
weight that adds to the intensity and necessity of the spiritual
message. A sunny psychedelia certainly dominates the music,
earning several comparisons to acts such as the Beach Boys
and The Flaming Lips, but this optimism comes off as
a positive choice in the face of hardship rather than a naďve
belief in the unquestioned goodness of the world. It would
not be fair to downplay the extreme inspiration and joy exhibited
by the twenty-nine (as credited in the liner notes; this number
seems to fluctuate) musicians – The Polyphonic Spree is nothing
if not an intense event to be witnessed. To take them as
simple, however, would not do them justice either.
Based on their live performances, it would be easy to overlook
the dark side of The Polyphonic Spree. Especially after their
run at last year's South By Southwest, the Spree have
based their reputation on the power and spectacle of putting
twenty-something musicians on stage in white robes, all dancing
and swaying in musical ecstasy. The effect of the musicians
combined with the climax that each song achieves makes for
a hypnotic show that encourages a spirited response. On disk,
however, lacking the visual feast and a congregation of listeners,
the music seems to be searching for something deeper and more
studied. The fact that the orchestration was mostly improvised
and that the entire recording session lasted only three days
does not detract from the deliberate approach to the songwriting.
In fact, the loose method of recording allows for an organic
sound that fits directly with DeLaughter’s artistic goals.
Speaking with i-D, DeLaughter explained that “I find religion
in completing a human vision and being able to obtain the
most out of a human mind.” In this sense, The Beginning Stages Of... offers a complex spiritual vision while
utilizing the most of twenty-nine minds.
One of the most amazing aspects of this album comes in its
ability to showcase several voices while maintaining at all
times a strong group dynamic. The music relies on nothing
that could be described as soloing, yet each member seems
to be contributing something unique at all times. On the
opening track (no track names are given), voices are introduced
one at a time, each carrying a different melody. The use
of polyphony, as the moniker suggests, pervades every song,
and this serves as the first piece in the Spree’s spiritual
puzzle. Rather than leading the listener into a wall of noise
where no instruments stand out and listeners are expected
to become one with a higher spiritual body, the music provides
a balance between this group body and the individual bodies
of listeners and performers. By highlighting many instruments
through the course of a song, literally from moment to moment
(a trumpet line might be followed by a percussion flourish
that gives way to a choral crescendo), the music encourages
the listener to add his mind to the mix. The various noises
serve as handles for the ear to grab on to just when the heart
wants to be absorbed. This creates an effect that allows
the listener to simultaneously feel himself pulled into the
whole and yet distantly observing each individual piece. In
the act of hearing and judging parts, the audience helps complete
the human vision that DeLaughter puts into play.
In spiritual terms, this method of listening might be described
as devotion with presence, an attempt to reach a spiritual
plane with a conscious dedication to the individual possibilities
manifested in the real world. This act involves no separation
between participant and the material world because the spirituality
predicates itself on this very material world – the unique
instances of noise expressed by horns, strings, and voices.
The music celebrates itself, the act of making noise, adding
new voices to a whole that is always the sum of its parts. To
appreciate each individual contribution, the listener must
in some sense stay grounded in a material world where ears
focus on noises. The variety of instruments and melodies
offers a sort of choose-your-own-adventure; you decide which
voice to follow, each yielding a unique listening experience. Again,
this allows DeLaughter and company to create a spiritual experience
that leads the listener back to himself and his own participation.
The music creates a spiritual forum that encourages self-discovery
rather than blind following.
The Spree creates this effect in multiple ways. The pacing
on the album serves a similar function to the contrapuntal
instrumentation in that they both serve to develop a central
theme (conceptually and musically) but stand out in various
ways to catch the listener’s attention. The first three tracks
create an upbeat groove with strong choruses. By the third
song, the words have become so simple as to lull the listener
into a peaceful shell. The fourth track breaks up this straightforward
progression with harsh backing vocals and more pronounced
horns. Instruments that were steady and weaving on the first
three songs become brash and choppy. The optimism remains
on the fourth and fifth tracks but becomes distorted as through
a carnival mirror. The fifth track slows the pace and allows
the melodies to be stretched and somewhat muted. The horns
become pensive and the backing vocals floaty and dreamlike. This
short interlude soon subsides, and the album turns back to
a mood of excitement and adventure. By mixing periods of introspection
with unselfconscious joy, the Spree creates another level
of spiritual possibility by mixing notions of participatory
presence and reflective distance. Both of these are necessary
for a religious movement that stresses the importance of individual
creativity within a group dynamic.
Compared to a musical orchestration overflowing with voices,
the lyrics add a simplicity and minimalism that highlight
the eloquence of DeLaughter’s artistic vision. The songs are
composed mostly of short lines repeated as mantras for the
length of the song. The lyrics particularly emphasize nature
and the sun as sources of inspiration and joy, and the ultimate
peacefulness seems to come from having experienced a day.
The mantra of the first song offers pure optimism and joy
for the moment: "Had a day / Celebrate / Soon you’ll
find the answer / Holiday / Hide away / Soon you’ll find the
wonder." Two songs later, DeLaughter finds that "Days
like this keep me warm, keep me warm, keep us warm."
Although these lines focus on the simple experience of a day,
the lyrics also examine notions of distance and becoming.
The second song encourages the listener to "Take some
time, get away / Suicide is a shame / Soon you’ll find your
own way / Hope has come, you are safe / And it makes me cry,
because I’m on my way." Although the lyrics are
ultimately positive, they acknowledge the musical experience
as a procedure for navigating a road from despair to hope. These
words mix ideas of presence and detachment: in order to avoid
suicide, the ultimate detachment from life, one must “get
away.” By leaving one path, we can become present to our
“own way.” By juxtaposing presence and detachment, the Spree
point to the fact that involvement in their movement requires
an adaptability to different modes and planes of spiritual
existence. Each mode leads to an optimistic and joyful embrace
of the world, but the path might require rapture one moment
and reflection the next. In their simplicity, the lyrics showcase
a subtle swaying that never reaches equilibrium but instead
constantly involves itself in the world.
The greatest challenge to this spiritual movement comes in
the last track on The Beginning Stages Of... After
just over a half-hour of energized music and koan-like lyrics,
The Polyphonic Spree end their album with a thirty-five minute
sampling of synthesized voices that one critic described as
a message to a mothership. Although meant in jest, the idea
that the Spree serves as some kind of alien cult poses a serious
threat to their humanistic and organic beliefs. To end such
a strong and moving album with a track that seems to laugh
at the idea of unique and inspired human voices suggests an
ironic detachment that just does not fit with the previous
atmosphere. This track cannot be put aside; it lasts longer
than the other nine tracks all together. In a sense, this
final track offers us a choice. Although peaceful and hypnotic,
this extended glance at choral minimalism ultimately serves
as the counterpoint to the Spree’s main spiritual project. The
choice involves your personal commitment as listener, the
choice between empowered involvement in and continuous dedication
to the possibilities contained in the music and in your own
mind and faceless observance of spiritually numb noise. This
is not a choice between one song or another or even between
The Polyphonic Spree and another band; it is the decision
that you as listener make as to what you will bring to the
music.
In the end, The Polyphonic Spree might not seem like a religious
movement at all. The involvement that The Beginning Stages Of... encourages works on such a personal level as
to almost render the notion of community void. Although not
going quite this far, The Polyphonic Spree seem to accept
community only on the foundation of strong individual guidance
and participation. Although the musicians might not have intended
it this way, their music lays a blueprint for the healthiest
combination of secular responsibility and spiritual freedom. This
goes much farther than inspiring industry cynics; The Polyphonic Spree are creating a joyous and moving forum that encapsulates
the deepest possibilities of music to demand from us a spiritual
commitment equal to the greatest of human hopes. That makes
for quite a listening experience.
— Matt King
Track List:
01. Section 1
02. Section 2
03. Section 3
04. Section 4
05. Section 5
06. Section 6
07. Section 7
08. Section 8
09. Section 9
10. Section 10
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