Ribbons - Royals
There is an abundance of space to get lost within Ribbons new record 'Royals,' the new project from Seattle based composer/producer Jherek Bischoff. And while that space can work for the listener in both good and bad ways, it is most assuredly an album of two disparate sides, with the first four songs coming much closer to approximating actual song structure than the much more experimental second half, which becomes a sonic free for all that belies the potential shown during the much more cohesive first half.
Album opener 'All Of Us,' has a bit of an 'Everything In Its Right Place' element to it, complete with nearly indecipherable lyrics and a sense of foreboding, and gets the album off to a strong and moody start. 'The Last And Least Likely' has sinister Portishead-like orchestration that drives the song straight away, before giving way to the more familiar guitar and lyric arrangement that brings the track a bit more down to earth from its lofty beginning. It's the standout track on the record. 'All We Know' is sleepy and expansive, and not too memorable, while the end of the 'first half' of the record finds Jherek going all Battles on the listener on 'Children's Song,' without the benefit of the mighty John Stanier on the drum kit, and the song suffers for it.
The 'second half' begins the experimental side of the record, and it's here where any of the momentum built up from the first half is lost entirely. Other than the semi-successful Panda Bear sounding 'Tongue Tied,' the second part of the album is a spatial wreck, devoid of any emotion or sagacity. It's simply a man left unchecked in the studio, without filter or form, and while the songs aren't entirely unlistenable, they aren't very indelible either. Which is a shame, because there is some promise shown on this album, it just wasn't realized entirely.
Subscribe to the DIY News Feed
