Published on May 15, 2001
Did you ever watch the show “Pretender”? I hardly watched, but I
know the show was based around a character who could assume any
line of work and do it successfully. (There’s a deeper sub-plot I’m
ignoring, I’m aware of this.)
The thoughts of this show crossed my mind while listening to
For, the fourth release from Philadelphia-based Maggi,
Pierce And E.J. The band changes its musical style more often than
some people I remember from college changed their underwear. But
what’s interesting about this eclectic trio (besides how many bands
they remind me of) is that they handle almost every single style
they come across well.
Maggi, who handles all the lead vocals, sounds most often like a
cross between Lisa Loeb and Fleming McWilliams (from Fleming &
John), with maybe an occasional touch of Tori Amos thrown in at
times. Musically, the group is all over the place – something which
normally would be annoying and distracting. However, the key is
that Maggi, Pierce And E.J. make the style changes sound like it’s
all part of the master plan – and it is surprisingly smooth.
How else can one explain the way the group can go from sounding
like Sergio Mendes & The Brazil ’66 (remember
them?) on “Ferdinand” to a light jazz-alternative mix on
“Burning The Sun” to an almost Phish-like opening on “Space”? In
the hands of many other bands, these kinds of shifts would leave
listeners pulling out their hair. But somehow, Maggi, Pierce And
E.J. not only make these changes seamless, but they do a damn good
job in almost any genre they’re thrown.
The only exception – and the only track on
For which doesn’t work – is “This Year’s Obsession”. It has
nothing to do with being led in by a humorous interlude in “What
The Heck”; instead,.it just doesn’t seem right for this band to be
tackling a hoarse kind of pseudo-punk-alternative on “This Year’s
Obsession”. Still, that’s one slip out of 15 listed tracks.
I say “listed,” because Maggi, Pierce And E.J. bury some
snippets in the disc, which surface after about a four-minute
silent track 16. (Note to any band reading: I, like millions of
other listeners, have better things to do with my time than to sit
through silence while little “ego projects” are hidden. You want me
to listen to these, you’d better be ready to pay me for my time. I
think a dollar for each minute of silence is fair… and two
dollars for each minute worth of “ego project” that is a waste of
time. If this is the standard, this group owes me $9.)
I have a little difficulty following the logic that
For was inspired by the life and music of Jeff Buckley,
though the melancholy atmosphere that makes up some of these tracks
(many of which were written before Buckley’s death) sometimes does
provide a type of tie-in. But you don’t even need to know the logic
behind this disc to enjoy it. And while Maggie, Pierce And E.J.
might be reveling in their anonymity created without the use of
last names, if
For is any indication, they won’t be unknowns for much
longer.