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Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album
[TeenBeat; 2002]
Rating: 8.4
I swear, some days it's like I can't even mention the name James Baluyut without
hearing something about Versus. But now, Baluyut's ready to shut everyone up in
fine style and just maybe get you to stop reminiscing about his full-time band
for five goddamn minutes. Now listen closely, 'cause I'm only gonna say this
once: Baluyut sets out solo for this effort as +/-, and if you were expecting
pop, you got it, but this ain't exactly your daddy's Secret Swingers.
Instead, Baluyut marries deliciously hott digital manipulation and Mille
Plateaux beats to the upbeat, joyous pop songwriting that made him such a
staple of the 90s college-rock circuit.
Baluyut's recipe here is straightforward enough: take simple acoustic pop
sensibilities with warm electronic swells and undertones; add tight, complex
percussion and distant vocal arrangements. But it's the small changes of focus
between seemingly disparate elements that make Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut
Album exceptionally varied. Each song is a subtle shift from the previous
one as new elements continually rise to the fore and old ones are subdued or
eliminated. And of course, it's all occasionally punctuated by startling
bursts of white noise and alien effects. Yet despite its experimental nature,
the pop song always remains the focus, drenched in perfect melody.
Even at its most jarring (which, to be fair, isn't very), Debut Album
has a nice underlying tranquility. Synth chords mimic strings and sweep in
over the opener, "All I Do," constantly building but never finally breaking,
over Baluyut's lone, plaintive refrain. "Manifest Destiny (In General)"
instantly distinguishes itself with a cascading, slightly dissonant piano
melody and bouts of invading instrumentation before Baluyut is brought so
close it feels as though he's singing from within the deepest recesses of
your brain. In fact, it's at this moment that you realize Baluyut's vocals
are Debut Album's single greatest asset. The thread that ties the
record together, his lilting tenor is part lullaby, part lament, mournful and
sleepy, conveying a genuine sense of conviction.
This record fits nicely into the canon of so-called "digipop," amongst releases
like Notwist's Neon Golden and Hood's Cold House, but its artistic
debts are owed to the Magnetic Fields' synth-crazy oeuvre. And while not
perfect-- the vocal loop on "Yo Yo Yo (Please Don't Fall in Love)" is pretty
upsetting-- its missteps are few and far between. The only real issue I take
with Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album, is that it's a bit too
removed at times. Some of these songs could benefit from a little intimacy,
which is admittedly difficult to pull off in this kind of setting. But all
told, this is an interesting direction for Baluyut that pays off more than it
flounders. And with the advances recently made by digital editing software,
his self-titled long-playing sophomore album stands to be just as rewarding.
-Eric Carr, May 16th, 2002