Folk Implosion's music implodes
By EMILY TUMBRINK
Scene Music Critic
Although Folk Implosion has not released an album since1999's One Part Lullaby, it is a bit pretentious of the band to name its latest album The New Folk Implosion. Granted, some major changes have occurred since the band's previous release, but naming the album The New Folk Implosion implies that those changes were positive, suggesting a new and improved sound.
However, the newness of Folk Implosion was definitely not by choice, and from the sound of things, the changes that made the band "new" also made the recording of this album a very long and arduous process, a process that, overall, was not even that successful. When listening to The New Folk Implosion, it is important to realize that this is not really Folk Implosion, it is the one remaining member of the original Folk Implosion with two new members.
In the early 1990s, a musician named John Davis sent Lou Barlow of the indie-rock band Sebadoh a tape of his music that spawned correspondence between the two that eventually led to the creation of Folk Implosion. In 2000, Davis quit the band, in theory ending its existence. But despite this major setback, Barlow began working on another album with a new drummer and guitarist. Davis's departure as well as a severe case of writer's block greatly delayed its release.
"Our collaboration was basically the basis for Folk Implosion," Barlow told VH1. "Now that the record is in such a weird state, I sometimes think, `Why the hell did I even try to do this?'"
So now that the album is finally out, the question remains, was it worth all the trouble?
It sure doesn't seem like it.
When listening to The New Folk Implosion, the importance of the collaboration between Barlow and Davis becomes evident. Without Davis, Folk Implosion sounds commonplace, dull and mundane. By stripping away the samples, a prominent feature of previous Folk Implosion albums, the tracks no longer contain the otherworldly and upbeat quality. The tracks no longer shimmer. Instead, they come across as dark and whiny.
But there is no need to get too disillusioned. It's not as though Barlow sucks without Davis. He is still a very talented songwriter. But by releasing this album under the band name Folk Implosion, Barlow has obviously set himself up for comparison with the other Folk Implosion albums. And the fact of the matter is, the sound of The New Folk Implosion has very little in common with the older material.
Perhaps if the album had been released under a new band name, as Barlow has been apt to do in the past, the expectations might be different, leading listeners to concentrate on the album's merits rather than its shortcomings. As it is, it is impossible to separate the idea of The New Folk Implosion from the original version, leading fans of Folk Implosion to wish that the new sounded more like the old.
Contact Emily Tumbrink at
tumbrink.1@nd.edu
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, February 4, 2003
