The Polyphonic Spree

The Fragile Army

December 06, 2007

By Mr. Marlowe

**** / ****

Released 2007

Like a demented high school marching band on speed, The Polyphonic Spree is the goofiest, most absurd, and most mesmerizing musical conglomerate in quite some time. Led by front man Tim DeLaughter, he of Tripping Daisy fame, and featuring an ensemble cast of 20 some odd musicians this is big band music updated for the MTV attention deficit generation. Guitars, drums, bass, flutes, and a huge singing chorus are but a few of this most peculiar experiment’s alarming and endearing features that thoroughly separate it from the modern pop music pack.

Crazy good and entertaining songs abound on The Spree’s third album, The Fragile Army, the best one they have released to date. The uplifting choruses that previously highlighted the band’s work are back but this time joined by a dark undercurrent that feature on many of the album’s cuts. Bitter laments such as Overblow Your Nest and The Fragile Army balance with sing-songy gesticulations Get Up and Go and Running Away to form an inspiring yet thoughtful collection of otherworldly pop music that we can surprisingly relate to. This is art rock with heart and soul that you can actually dance to, if dancing in a flailing, hippy-happy manner is what you consider dancing.

After listening to The Fragile Army from start to finish, it isn’t surprising to learn that the band has traded in their flowing robes for faux military garb with hearts on the breast pockets. The album’s songs want to push the world in motion by inspiring, provoking thought and feeling, and promoting a unity lacking in the new millennium. A noble pursuit, for sure, and it works well thematically as an effective anchor for this tremendously stunning, thoughtful, and fun body of songs.

A friend of mine recently remarked that The Polyphonic Spree’s sound is “nothing more than noise,” but I think she is dead wrong. The Polyphonic Spree use careful calculation to manipulate and squeeze the best elements of their varied inputs. Having a dozen or more instruments together almost guarantees a similar effect to scribbling 20 colorful crayons over one another yielding a big brown mess. However, DeLaughter is very effective at reigning in his band and using musical swells as punctuation marks rather than the entire blueprint for his songs. This method proves precisely why the songs on The Fragile Army seem so different from one another yet still have a unifying sound and feel. Radiohead gets a lot of credit for using numerous sounds in their music and getting the most out of their many musical players. The Polyphonic Spree do them one better by not only getting a huge sound from their many players but tempering them down when necessary as well. This technique allows The Spree to avoid the self-obsessed naval contemplating that often gets Radiohead into trouble from their less than forgiving critics like me.

When it comes to the Polyphonic Spree, don’t be fooled: these guys are every bit as sophisticated as Radiohead, and an even better listening experience. There are those, however, who will hate them from the get-go, cringing at DeLaughter’s near-falsetto and the band’s overjoyed, cult-like image. Those people, unfortunately, are missing out on some great music. For a band that features as a punch line on numerous critical lists, you’d be surprised just how good The Polyphonic Spree can be and The Fragile Army is their best effort yet.

Best Songs: Get Up and Go, Running Away, The Fragile Army, Watch Us Explode, Overblow Your Nest