Nothing wrong with some bread & circus, some fine amusement and diversion from the daily grind. This particular bread & circus is a recently released album from the Worcester UK band Babble.
Lyrically, the album has a mystical leitmotif; it’s not quite psychedelic, but definitely soul-searching, announcing a desire for something that you probably won’t find at the local mall or street corner.
“The Divine Discontent,” during its finer moments, is reminiscent of Alice in Chains unplugged. The acoustic guitar melodies, on which this song is grounded, are stellar indeed.
With such lines as “And he’ll expect money for this!” the track “Psychiatry” may have more than a touch of cynicism. However, the guitar component is kind of jazzy and playful. About halfway through, this soaring guitar solo comes out of nowhere. Where the hell has this been? I want more of it!
[youtube JLdUCZ9LDYw]For my fellow guitar-worshipping freaks out there, kindly sample the latter portion of “Yeah Sure No Problem.” You’ll see what I mean when you get there.
“Down in the Dark Wood” is heavily electronic. It’s actually a dual-synthesizer track, and you may notice that one part is kind of jingly and playful, while the other is brooding and eerie. The simultaneous contrast is interesting; I don’t believe I’ve encountered this before.
EPK for the ‘Bread & Circuses’ project: http://artistecard.com/breadandcircuses
On “Touched by Angels,” guitar notes scatter like rain drops. As far as vocals go, this song best showcases the vocalist’s ability. Many might also like the singing to “Lady of the Wild Things.” Perhaps the vocalist has carved herself a personal anthem here! She certainly sounds like she’s in her element.
“Tied to the Machine” is an outstanding title for just about anything involving social commentary on our ultra-modern world. I doubt I’m the only one who can appreciate the irony of this anti-machine titled song being centered on a synthesizer riff.
Perhaps it’s too late for us to do anything about all the machines! Well, at least you can enjoy the song.
Enjoy the whole album while you’re at it. Even if the mystical isn’t exactly your thing, musical connoisseurs would likely appreciate the fine construction of song that surfaces time and again.
Find out for yourself at: http://www.reverbnation.com/babble
For those visual art enthusiasts, this webpage (and physical copy of the album) also contain some vivid artwork, often with hellish imagery a la Hieronymus Bosch.
https://www.facebook.com/BreadAndCircusesUK
Ray Cavanaugh – owleyesgatsby@yahoo.com