"Let's go back to the island" – The Jezabels' Synthia

Yeah, "Hurt Me" is magnificent https://youtu.be/qTgG-dtGIfs

Those early EPs have some amazing tracks on them. FWIW apparently this is their first album to be released when they didn't have to make or release one – perhaps more similar circumstances to their early material. It feels to me like they're more creative than they've been since that time, not second-guessing themselves so much, or less afraid to try some different ideas.

(Like the uncharacteristic "groove" O_O on "Pleasure Drive")

https://youtu.be/dMV_O_z6-6U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMV_O_z6-6U

As albums go, Prisoner is still the one that I enjoy listening to the most, but that's in spite of some, uh, borrowed epicness on there. Of course everyone wants to be like Simple Minds, but, y'know, those guys have lawyers. And The Brink is very nice, but it sounded a lot like "refuge in Triple J-ish-ness". They seemed to dial down the over-emoting, but that's the best part...

It would be great to be talented enough to write a Marcello/Lena-style meditation on an album of such beauty, track by track.

Luckily, someone else has already done it:

The Jezabels’s ‘Synthia’ let down by overused synthesizers

http://www.redandblack.com/culture/the-jezabels-s-synthia-let-down-by-overused-synthesizers/article_20b595c8-d42e-11e5-85d1-5b853f10c13c.html

Australian indie-rockers The Jezabels are often characterized by their synthesizer driven pop sound, a feature of the band’s music that has brought it success through three extended play albums and two full-length productions.

The band’s latest release on Feb. 12, “Synthia,” ironically falls flat in its delivery due to the atmosphere-creating devices, making it difficult to listen to in its entirety without the album fading to the background.

The album opens with “Stand and Deliver,” an almost eight-minute epic that is entirely instrumental for over half of the track. Much of this instrumentation is synthesized sounds that are carried out for much longer than it should be as it lends to losing one’s focus in the droning keyboards. At around four-minutes in, the song takes a turn for the better when the synthesizers abruptly cut out and singer Hayley Mary utters the dramatic, “What’s a girl to do, standing in the spotlight?” As the song continues it becomes clear that the four-minute introduction was unnecessary.

The track “Unnatural,” begins with a synthesized riff that is reminiscent of 80s video game theme music and is a distraction from the song’s lyrics. The chorus also falls victim to the synthesizers, as Mary’s voice literally blends into the instrument. This phenomenon also occurs in the track “A Message from My Mothers Passed” among others, leading them to be forgettable in the grand scheme of the album.

This overuse, or perhaps simply misuse, of the band’s beloved synthesizers is unfortunate as other tracks do shine in a more natural format.

The track “Pleasure Drive” is a perfect example of this, as it is based in a gritty but catchy guitar riff that enhances rather than distracts. This leaves room for the lyrics to shine, allowing the band’s ever-present feminist ideals to come forth through lyrics blatantly encouraging sexual liberation. The unapologetic nature of the song paired with its funky groove is a refreshing change that comes much too late in the album, over halfway through the lineup.

Finally, the last song in the album, “Stamina,” is another epic to rival the first and greatly outshines its predecessor. Instead of featuring a four-minute introduction, the track takes off running with a beautifully raw vocal performance by Mary before building into a powerful ballad. Though the track does heavily feature unnatural sounds, a balance exists between those and the vocals that were not present in the album’s opener.

Although “Synthia” did not entirely disappoint as The Jezabels’s junior album, it did fall short due to the misuse of synthesized sounds. There was some hope in tracks that followed a more natural instrumentation, hinting that the album would have been more successful had the band begun phasing out its heavy use of synthesizers.

Voted "Unnatural", obviously

Their first proper gig together, after such a long delay, was in an appropriate location – on an island. At Rottofest in Western Australia:

http://s13.postimg.org/k8p991nyv/Jezabels_Rottnest_Rottofest.png

And this completes the singles list

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atSmcn0nflo

I'm hoping they'll release "Flowers in the Attic" next

Well, as threatened, let's try a track-by-track deconsynthtion, before putting this one to bed.

Stand and Deliver – It starts very lightly, a quiet synth-figure and guitar. The band's previous records have begun with something attention-grabbing and loud, which this song does eventually become, but maybe that's the point – beginning with a whisper is more unexpected. Reeling in their own natural tendency. It can't really be called "a complete stylistic departure from anything the band has done before" – the elements were all there in "Long Highway" (including Sam Lockwood's Edge imitation lol), but the arrangement is a bit more complex here.

My Love Is My Disease – Not such a departure. They make this song once every album, usually as the lead single. The three chords of the chorus, anyway.

Smile – A beautiful and poignant track, and quite timely in its depiction of gender relations on a socio-personal level. So, it couldn't possibly be a hit. Also, I wonder how many people don't even get the significance of the "smile" line...

Unnatural – These strange synths. Are they artificial, or are they actually controlled by a musician? Hmm. Although that RedAndBlack review (above) totally misses the point, the reviewer does kinda unwittingly get to the core of this song. It is meant to be confusing. Bad unnatural video-game synths, a band that's seemingly trying to re-create the past while claiming the past was more futuristic. And you've got the singer repeatedly proclaiming "I'm unnatural, I'm unnatural", while also singing about how you must live the life that you want, find the relationship that you choose, and let no one dismiss you as "unnatural". It's the perfect contradictory meeting of form and content. Actually, on closer inspection I can't really tell wtf the lyrics are all about. It's very confusing.

A Message from My Mothers Passed – A more laidback track midway through, but continuing the theme of female emancipation. This was originally titled "Higher" iirc.

Side B later! (Actually sides C & D, but the vinyl would be much more convenient if it were just one 15-inch record)

Come Alive – The centrepiece of the album, the lead single, and it's easy to see why. Together with the video it's especially powerful (strikingly different from videos they released before; the vids have all been much more interesting this album). Apparently their Aussie tour has seen some raucous performances of this, although on record it seems to end quite abruptly.

Pleasure Drive – Hayley Mary talks about the making of the song here. It's completely based around an arpeggiator line Heather Shannon came up with. Is it me, or is that part microtonal? Or is that the wrong word? The album version is about a minute longer than the single. Maybe the most surprising thing is hearing Australian radio play this uncensored. Is it some rule like, you can say "I don't give a fuck", but not "go fuck yourself"? Also, it's nice to see that Spotify hasn't marked "whoop-de-fucking-doo" as explicit language on "Smile", another barrier broken.

Flowers in the Attic – It builds very nicely, starting with a demo-like piano loop, and the outro is sublime. In between that, you've got what I'd hesitate to call a power ballad without adding the disclaimer "modern" or "-pop" to make it sound less silly. It brings to an end a great eight-track run.

If Ya Want Me – The trouble is, what's gone before makes this one feel like a bonus track. It might've been more at home on The Brink, but sounds a little simple in this context.

Stamina – A mirror of the album's beginning, although more relaxed and lyrically hopeful. More than any of their previous work, it hints at being about Australia's colonial past/present.

I can't hear anything in this album to get obsessed over

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

They released a one off single in Q3 of last year that I only came across a couple weeks ago. Might be one of their best things ever, imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxXHT6sQ-rI