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There is nothing in this world better than that moment when you
realize your life has been changed completely by hearing a band
you have not previously heard. It happens very rarely, but it
happens. This record has changed me. It's filled with clever lyrics
and catchy musical hooks. It's scattered wildly about with inside
jokes that are not meant just for the insiders. In fact, it gives
the hint that there really are no such things as the insiders.
A strong message from a one-man band on their (his) sophomore
record. And who knew baby robots would be so damned cute?
The songs on Numbers & Mumbles run the full gamut
of the sonic palette one would expect from truly great indie rock;
chock full of noisy pop goodness and peaceful near silences. The
album kicks off with "Pop Music Of The Future", a fitting
title for a song about a girl who "sold her Warlock and
bought a drum machine/ fired her whole band cause they hated 909
beats"; but is it really a sort of autobiographical sketch
of the life of one Eric Elbogen? Possibly. And simply put,
you know it's going to be a great record when there is a line
in the first song that goes along the lines: "and then
there was emo, but that was just a phase/ cause it's all been
downhill since Sunny Day Real Estate's first record."
"Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks" certainly lives up
to its name, taking a driving drum loop and marrying it up with
some inventively classic indie guitar riffs and squeezed-in lyrics.
Brother, can I testify? One of my top ten favorite songs of all
time is "Let's Talk About Spaceships", which is possibly
about nothing at all, or possibly about the most important thing
of all. "And what's that saying again? / They're only
words and words can't kill me/ But I can't even spell them and
the cadence of what she says is… well…/ Let's talk about
spaceships or anything except you and me, ok?." This
wondrous song is followed up by the classic bop-along sound of
tongue-in-cheek - "A Kiss To Make It Better" with its
warbling synth lines, slamming drumbeat, and E.L.O. lead
lines. And you can't look over the Pixies influence on
"Your Brains vs. My Tractorbeam"; noisy and loose while
being tightly controlled and manhandled; or the brilliance of
"But She Beat My High Score" with its skewed outlook
on life's purposeful purpose. "Sounds that cut off short
make up rhythms/ And pixilated men eat pixel food/ Well I thought
I found a way to lay the joystick down: a girl with eyes the color
of pea soup/ And there's a flame, there's a spark/ But she beat
my high score/ So say goodbye, there's the door, I can't see you
anymore…"
There is no weak spot on Numbers & Mumbles. There
is only beautiful music to make you laugh and cry and sing along.
Lyrics that make one wonder exactly how mainstream pop music is
so mired in substanceless drudgery when there is such an obvious
and amazing alternative… makes me remember back to those
glory days when alternative rock was actually an alternative.
Do yourself a favor, and find this record… visit www.sayhitoyourmom.com
for information on where to find it, and where to see the band
when they come to your tiny part of this tiny wonderful world
where music can make such a difference in a day… a week…
a lifetime. "I'll only light because you're my match/
Admit it, I took out your trash/ There are stars in your eyes
and they're shooting/ We never hung things on the walls/ We played
the Pixies and The Fall/ There's a treasure in your heart
just like a pirate's booty…"
-Embo Blake
Track Listing-
1. Pop Music Of The Future
2. A Hit In Sweden
3. Super
4. Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks
5. Let's Talk About Spaceships
6. A Kiss To Make It Better
7. But She Beat My High Score
8. Your Brains vs. My Tractorbeam
9. I'm So Tired
10. The Key Of C
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