2013-10-15 4:21:36 ¶ ●

RATING: 6 / 13 – a little melodramatic in retrospect. Heavy-handed.

This is the first ‘theme’ album I’ve reviewed. And the theme is ‘time, and how to mess with it.’ It centers on The Felt, of course: that irascible gang of puppet leprechaun frog men. Some of The Felt are borderline clever and cunning, while a few of them are profoundly stupid in their time shenanigans.

Most of the album is dominated by that theme of time. There’s lots of backwards instrumentation, lots of rewind / fast forward effects, and plenty of ticking clocks. It’s experimental symphony, if that qualifies as a genre (there’s not much chiptune or rock to be found here: it’s pretty much all woodwinds, strings, and brass).

The majority of the songs take off in interesting, avant-garde directions to suit the time motif. Sometimes it works (English, Chartreuse Rewind), and sometimes it doesn’t (Clockwork Reversal, Omelette Sandwich).

With its experimental nature, it’s quite a bit more niche than most of the catalog. There are some very good tracks on the album (I’ve especially warmed up to a few after repeated listening), but the style makes it a little tough to get into.

Click here for individual song reviews for The Felt.