Search - Home :: Xiv

Frustrating

A. Temple | Ann Arbor, MI | 09/17/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I found Home's _XI_ (a.k.a. _Elf :: Gulf Bore Waltz_) in a used CD store by accident and it quickly became one of my favorite indie rock albums, and perhaps one of my favorite albums period. Excited by reviews of _XIV_ as a "note-perfect experimental pop album", I bought it immediately when I saw it in an HMV in London. Unfortunately, this album doesn't come close to matching its lower-fi predecessor.That's not to say that this album is terrible. Indeed, there are a few songs on here that are absolutely excellent: "So Much Love" is a real indie anthem, complete with Olivia Tremor Control-like vocal slides, and "Thunder and Lightning" alternates between tensely restrained passages and freaked-out hard rock, including a section in which one vocalist sings while the other yells the same lines at the same time. Possibly the best song, "Contract" combines jazzy vamping, wonderfully shaky almost-falsetto vocalizing, spiky triplet pizzes, squeaky sax lines and pure noise into a brilliant, exciting and totally original composition.
But then there's "Children's Suite 3." What a piece of .... It sounds like a Disney score. I saw a review that described it as a "full-blown classical composition." That's ridiculous--it may have grand pianos and cellos, but it's trite pseudo-film music at best. And how about "Aguirre (exterior)"? I didn't know it was possible to get that bored in two and a half minutes. Two other songs almost sound like inferior, overblown versions of 1996 Elephant 6 songs: "Memories" of Neutral Milk Hotel's "You've Passed" (except with trite lyrics instead of beautiful ones) and "The Fable of Salty Water" of the Olivia Tremor Control's "The Gravity Car" (a song I never liked much anyway).
In fact, I think "overblown" may be the key to the problem with this album: the influence of symphonic progressive rock. While _Elf :: Gulf Bore Waltz_ incorporated classical elements, it did so cleverly and without pretention. Here, the high-fi production of Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, etc.) accentuates the melodramatic aspect of such moments as the climax of "Burden" (although admittedly, part of the problem with this section is the slightly wanky guitar work; compare "1 dB" on _XI_, where every note is in its right place). This also manifests itself in the form of the extremely cheesy "washing" synths that crop up every now and then, notably in "Truly Judy."
Despite all these complaints, however, I have to say, I can still enjoy this album quite a bit if I skip a few tracks. And I forgot to mention another song I like quite a bit, "Chicago." A nice, satisfying (although not mind-blowing) indie rock song that could've been one of the less impressive tracks on _XI_ (kind of like "Ride it Right"). So I don't really hate the album -- I just found it very disappointing compared to the brilliance of the first Home album I bought."

Album of the Year

wilburwilcox | Melbourne, Victoria Australia | 09/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1998 Best Album - Deserter's Songs, 1999 Best Album - The Soft Bulletin, 2000 Best Album - XIV by Home. Seems to be a common thread here (Dave Fridmann).You may not have heard of Home but they've been around for a while. It took the polish of Dave Fridmann to produce this masterpiece.Buy XIV now. Listen to it 3 times without distractions. If you don't fall in love with this CD you clearly don't appreciate complex beautiful music.There's not one dud song on the whole album and the songs are very distinct from one another.The more I listen to XIV the more I am thinking it is even better than The Soft Bulletin (now that's a big statement).After you grow to appreciate XIV, but the previous Home CDs - you won't be disappointed"

Epic yet Intimate

Spark Jonz | Orange, CA | 07/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe this CD hasn't been reviewed yet! From start to finish, this LP is a gem. It's the perfect blend of excellent song writing, beautiful, complex production and exhilirating bursts of sound.I was first introduced to the music of Home through their brilliant/quirky album "IX". Admittedly, the main factor bringing me back to this band was hearing that "XIV" was produced by Dave Fridmann of Mercury rev and Michael Ivins of Flaming Lips. The combination of Fridmann & Ivin's insightful guidance, with Home's evident love of music ignites into the year 2000's best LP (to date). On first listen, this LP sounded nice and pleasant, worthy of attention. On many subsequent listenings, my love for this album CONTINUES to grow! Each track has a personality of its own and yet it all holds together perfectly like any great rock LP should.Comparison's include Mercury Rev's "Deserters Songs", Flaming Lips "Soft Bulletin", and Grandaddy's "Sophtware Slump". Though all of these CDs are extraordinary, Home's XIV still tops my list and lingers in my CD wallet."