Post Honeymoon’s album manages to barely escape the trash bin on the strength of their rhythm section.
Post Honeymoon’s album manages to barely escape the trash bin on the strength of their rhythm section.
Post Honeymoon
Post Honeymoon
Released on Jun 09, 2009
I generally find myself being very biased to albums with a strong rhythm section. If you got solid beats
– its pretty much a sure-fire way to get me hooked. The notion
that drummers aren’t in the same class as their string-based brethren
is an ignorant statement that neglects the power of a well put-together
beat. What would Led Zeppelin be without John
Bonham’s ferocious
drumming? Or how about Tool’s Danny
Carey, a master of ridiculously
ambidextrous tribal drumming? So when I finally got my hands on Post
Honeymoon’s self-titled release I was more than excited to revisit
the punk thrash drumming of Nick Kraska. And while Kraska is vicious
as ever – the rest of the music surrounding him doesn’t hold up
quite as well.
What surrounds him is this quasi-Goth,
British New Wave rock sound that at times can be enchanting and laughable.
“Night Guard” stands as the obvious album highlight with blazing
drums and buzzing synth lines that doubles as a guitar as well. Its
also one of vocalist Rachel Shindelman’s better performances on album.
Vocally she sounds like a cross between the unaffected yowl of Interpol’s
Paul Banks and the yelp of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O. When she
takes to her Karen O tendencies, Shindelman’s vocals do a better job
of keeping up with Kraska’s drum assault. On album closer “Lars,”
the two come together quite nicely behind a wall of crunching guitars
and gentle pianos that slowly crescendo into overdrive that – not
surprisingly – is propelled by the drum section.
Whenever Kraska isn’t behind the
kit (as he’s known to take up guitars and bass roles during live performances)
there is a noticeable lack of presence from the drums. “The Night
Before” has an achingly rudimentary drum beat and “First-World Problems”
reeks of soul-less processed drum beats. Where the rhythm section previously
served to add tension and energy to the songs, they now take to the
back-seat and the band’s real weakness come to the front. The cheesy,
Phantom of the Opera-esque organ lines that decorate the previously
mentioned tracks come to the front forcing you to see how horribly contrived
and forced some of these sounds can be. Without the drum section adding
power and dynamism to the songs, everything falls flat.
Probably best to take away from listening to Post Honeymoon is the sense that the drum is as important and powerful an instrument as any other. The band has this element perfected and it clearly shows – without drums the band isn’t nearly as effective or interesting. What the band should focus on is injecting that sense of dynamism into the other instruments. Great albums are the synthesis of all these elements coming together in a unique, affecting, and dynamic way. If you have any weak links in this formula, your bound to come up short. And if that’s the case – hope you have a kick-ass drummer to pick up the slack.
High Point
When all the instruments match the intensity and energy of the drums, the album shines.
Low Point
I really wish the band would stop trying to soundtrack the movie “Nosferatu.”
Posted by Danny Lopez on Sep 08, 2009 @ 6:00 am
