Music Review:

Barcelona-Absolutes

Absolutely Awesome

Not since Wolf Parade’s 2005 release Apologies to Queen Mary has a band relied so much on a balanced sound, making the title of Barcelona’s new album, Absolutes, slightly ironic. The band is at their best letting the guitars meld with the keyboards, while letting the drums simmer in the background, providing structure to the song when it needs it, never reveling in excess or minimalism. While the album dips slightly from some over-wrought piano ballads, for the most part it serves as an example of how indie rock records should operate: melodic and unpretentious.

The first real stand-out track “It’s About Time” features a haunting guitar melody that soars and bolsters the singer’s quiet voice, putting emphasis on the lyrics, which while not substantial are certainly workable. The music builds slowly, letting each member contribute and move the song forward before crashing together in a truly cathartic chorus. When Barcelona is able to achieve this kind of build-up, their songs are mesmerizing, allowing the listener to get lost in them.

Unfortunately, near the middle of the album, the band gets a little lost, trying their hand too much at the slow, piano laden ballads that serve to slow the album down, never being substantial enough musically or lyrically to warrant a repeat listen. Absolutes does not recover as quickly as one hopes, spiking the end of the slower, reflective valley of the album with the goofiest song of the 11, “Colors.”

Think generic 90s pop-rock. The acoustic guitar that drives the song is a little irritating, the lyrics reaching a low point on the album (“She makes my heart scream color / I know by now she should have found me out"), veering away from the reflective and concrete, and jumping into the deep end of off kilter sensual images. But even at its lows, Absolutes is still enjoyable, always maintaining an air of seriousness, but not over doing it or plunging the record into melodrama.

Barcelona is a band that never tries to play out of their league. They never try to bog themselves down with overreaching concepts, tricky styles, or trying to make their songs feel meaningful: they just write really well constructed songs. The songs speak for themselves, which is rare today, in a scene where every other album seems to be concerned with some overarching structure or idea that the band thinks will make their album important. Barcelona recognizes what makes an album worth listening to, and they deliver the goods.

--Matt McGraw