Saturday, May 26, 2012

Pillars #2: Psychedelic Rock - The Teardrop Explodes / Wilder (1981)

It’s a fitting title: Wilder is a more diverse, experimental, and, well, wilder effort than the band’s debut. The songwriting goes down a darker path, too, both lyrically and sonically. Dave Balfe’s keyboards and synth loops are more prominent than on Kilimanjaro, sometimes the only accompaniment to a troubled, mumbling Cope. Haunting aural textures and shifting dynamics create a lost, paranoid, and decidedly psychedelic atmosphere that is supported by the album's fragmented track sequence. Cracking singles like side-two opener “Passionate Friend” showcase punchy arrangements and act as buoys between bouts of strangeness, while tracks like “Tiny Children” and “…And The Fighting Takes Over” move into quieter, more nebulous spaces of druggy, introspective beauty and confusion. I love the wry lyrics and paranoid mood of "Like Leila Khaled Said" and Police-ish multilayer drumming of "Seven Views of Jerusalem." The latest CD release has bonus tracks that may interest serious fans, but they are nonessential and ultimately ruin the record’s continuity. Original sequencing stops at “The Great Dominion,” a sweeping closer to the brilliant’s group’s short career. The song has an epic scope somewhere between a great accomplishment and a hint of what could have been. Either way, it's Cope's greatest moment on wax and a remarkable accomplishment for a pop record. 

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