Saturday, March 15, 2008

It's a Carnival

Bryan Scary - The Shredding TearsBryan Scary ... Bryan Scary ... Bryan Scary. I kept seeing the name pop up in my world of too pop, most notably at new Cool Popper (see blogroll to the right) Powerpopaholic (he had me at "...Jellyfish fans will flip over.") Scary (and his band The Shredding Tears, which seems to mostly consist of him), has a new album coming out 4/1 called Flight of the Knife. In preparation of this Too Poppy-worthy event, I thought it necessary to develop historical perspective. In other words, I bought his first album The Shredding Tears.

Wow, Jellyfish indeed, and McCartney, and Wilson, and Bowie, and Pink Floyd, and Queen, and did I mention Jellyfish? I instantly loved the sound and had high expectations. This was going to be a fun listen. Though after 15 tracks, honestly, I was a little relieved it was over. It consisted of everything I loved about music so I can only conclude I was overwhelmed.

Scary swings for the fences - not with every song, but with every note! I felt a longing for an off-note or an abrupt ending to a song - anything to shake up the meticulous production. It was like listening to Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite over and over and over and over and over again - great on the first few plays, but by the 15th, it's time for a change.

That's not to say everything was a miss. Quite the contrary, this album is so rich and heady that it's going to take many listens to absorb it all. It's saying something that I had this reaction after only one listen. This is not disposable pop and I expect it will have a lasting impact on me, but I was hoping to have a little more fun than I did.

Download The Shredding Tears here
Visit here
Stream here at HisSpace

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