Published on Nov 11, 1997
Back when Beck first burst onto the scene, I didn’t understand
what the big deal was about him. To my untrained ear, he seemed
like free-association Jean-Paul Sartre set to a rough acoustic
beat. I wrote him off as a passing fad… that, along with the
polyester leisure suit I bought for a wedding (don’t ask), was one
of the biggest mistakes I made in the ’90s.
Fortunately, I have been given a chance to redeem myself with
Sean Macdonald’s brainchild The ids and their debut effort
Psycho Babylon… or have I? (Guess you’ll have to keep
reading to find out…)
The sparse arrangements of many of the songs on this one paint
the picture of a world trapped in a world of ironic anarchy. More
than once the cries of “fuck the system” will blare from your
speakers — and while this ain’t Phil Ochs, the message comes
across strikingly blurry. Somehow, I think this is exactly how
Macdonald wanted it to be — and it works.
More often than not, Macdonald is the force behind the
instruments and voices of the songs, though he does occasionally
assemble other musicians to join him in his map-less journey.
Normally, in my pre-Beck days, I would doubt that order could come
from such chaos. But now that I am enlightened, I see that the
chaos
is the order, and musicians like Adrian Rout, Jim Routhier
Rick Brummer and Jacob Cino just help guide the listener to the
order.
Enough already with the psycho-babble, the music is the thing –
and you get all styles here. From the electronic Erasure-wannabe
noodlings of “Atomic City” to the close-to-being-a-rocker “Pimps In
It” to the acoustic guitar and vocals on “Prozac Morning,”
Macdonald leads the listener through some definitely uncharted
waters. Fortunately, many of them are relatively smooth.
In fact, the only rough seas come on the track “Summer Of 1999,”
the only true example of complete weirdness on
Psycho Babylon. Had it been shorter, it might have been
somewhat bearable – but not five minutes’ worth.
Otherwise, Macdonald does indeed make the bulk of
Psycho Babylon an interesting journey to take. The blend of
acoustic and electric guitars, as well as the tuba-like bass lines,
on “Monkeys In Cages” highlight Macdonald’s lyrics. “Spiritual
Debris” has a rawness in production and performance that is
amazingly potent – and leads in quite well to “Rainbow Enemy” and
its subdued declaration of war against the status quo of
society.
Somehow, I don’t see The ids going the route that Beck has
taken, becoming stylish and hip with tracks like “The New
Pollution,” but Macdonald seems to have discovered a groove that
fits his style of writing and performing like a wet suit. Be
warned, though, that
Psycho Babylon isn’t a disc you’ll immediately find
endearing. It’s only after repeated listenings that its power and
messages will become clearer.
I made the mistake a few years ago of declaring Beck as a
passing flavor of the month. Will The ids achieve the level of
success that Beck has? I don’t think so. But if their future
efforts are anything like
Psycho Babylon, it won’t be for lack of trying.