Published on Jul 31, 2003
Like a decent bottle of wine, you’re not too sure exactly how to
enjoy Floating Opera’s latest release,
Burning Lighthouse. Because the album will likely contain
the most lush and musically gorgeous textures you will hear this
year, part of you wants to let it linger in your CD player at home
for maximum enjoyment, much like swishing wine around in a glass
and sniffing it, instead of drinking it from the bottle. However,
Burning Lighthouse contains enough rocking moments to make
it an ideal soundtrack for a late summer drive.
Floating Opera formed initially as a side project Mercy Rule and
the Millions, two bands from Lincoln, Nebraska who each scored a
major-label release in the ’90s. While both bands hung up their
guitars later in that decade, Floating Opera continued to record.
Since forming in 1993, the band has had more than 30 musicians
circulate in and out of the studio during their ten-year career
(sort of like the way Queens of the Stone Age record their albums,
only with lush harmonies and pop orchestration).
On the surface,
Burning Lighthouse almost sounds too gorgeous to criticize.
The complex musical orchestration automatically conjures
comparisons to the Beach Boys’
Pet Sounds era as well as Elvis Costello’s more
sophisticated recordings. The storytelling in most of the songs
feels like a collection of short stories in a literary magazine.
The album even has an alternative version to one of their tracks to
close out the album, giving it a thematic, albeit slightly
contrived, overall feel.
There are moments where the lavish musical ornamentation of
Burning Lighthouse threaten to careen the band off into
pretentiousness. However, the percussion (shared duties by Ron
Albertson and Paul Tisdale) and crunching guitar work by Jon Taylor
usually produce enough of a thunder to rattle your speakers. If
that wasn’t enough, members of the New York hardcore experimental
act Liars pop in for an appearance.
Some of the most immediately appealing songs on
Burning Lighthouse develop when the hard rock chops of the
band mesh with pop orchestration. “Believer,” a song that has the
feel of one of Led Zeppelin’s sweeping epics, is a perfect example
of the band’s ability to effortlessly fuse different styles
together without sounding like a novelty. Lori Allison’s vocals are
able to mold into whatever style Floating Opera pursues on this
disc. It also helps that Heidi Ore lends her pipes to some of the
more uptempo tracks, such as “Agnes in Furs” and “Shapes I Brought
Back With Me.”
At times,
Burning Lighthouse sounds like it’s too sophisticated to be
enjoyed as a good rock album. Yet, after a few listens, the pop
melodies are as irresistible and catchy as some of the poppiest
tracks on radio. Fortunately,
Burning Lighthouse is sweet enough to have you craving
seconds without giving you a toothache.
(Ed.’s Note: Burning Lighthouse
can be purchased at
www.jarmusic.com )