Two radically different yet equally mediocre albums

By Sarah Simkin, Lukas Truckenbrod / Staff Writers

published: Tue, 1 Sep, 2009

Mark Mallman
Invincible Criminal
Label: Badman
Rocks Like: Billy Joel meets The Killers, but poorly executed
Grade: B-

Listeners looking for ’70s-style keyboard slides and incoherent despondency in their music will conclude that Invincible Criminal is an album worth listening to. If you don’t find yourself in that category, you might still enjoy some of Mark Mallman’s compositions on his second solo album, but don’t expect a happy mood when you’re done. The instrumentals aren’t excessively dark or moody, but coupled with lyrics bemoaning the passing of better times, the end result is far from cheery.

“You’re Never Alone in New York” becomes repetitive but compensates with inventive and unusual melodies. “Mercy Calls” is an overdone ballad featuring inscrutably dramatic lyrics including, “It began with mercy / And mercy is how it will end / When mercy calls / We all know who’s answering.”

“In These Times of Harsh Economy” is comprised exclusively of what-is-he-talking-about lyrics like, “Some people say when Dillenger died / That the job was inside / I feel the same about love and war,” and three or four notes on a keyboard. A little Google research revealed a quote by Mallman claiming that Invincible Criminal is intended to be an anthropomorphism of time.

This is clarified by the title track — although it’s distracted by out-of-place techno effects and furious vocals — and though a close listening of the album as a whole supports the grandiose claim, it doesn’t pull it off to the degree that Mallman and the listener would hope.

-Sarah Simkin

Maserati
Passages
Label: Temporary Residence Ltd.
Rocks Like: U2, Mew, Explosions in the Sky
Grade: B-

If Bono was kicked out of U2 and the Edge was given full reign, this might be the result (also, perhaps if David Gilmour was behind the board and there was a constant supply of psychedelic drugs).

After a chorus of repeating chants, the drums and ethereal melodies swell into a heavy groove. Delay-laden guitars, big open drums and a fat, edgy bass drive this sound, which is appropriate when taking the band’s name into account.

Critics seem to group this album into the “turn-up-really-loud-and-drive-really-fast-at-night-in-your-Italian-sportscar” genre.

The fifth track, “The World Outside (Thee Loving Hand Remix),” starts off as a three-song remixed set, all of which contain more of a dance vibe — it’s a hypno-psychedelic trance that might very well translate into a spectacular live show, not unlike popular dance-rock band Lotus.
Instrumental music cannot rely on vocals to keep the listener hooked — instead, Maserati relies on driving rhythms that can turn into a repetitive drone.

The album can be used most effectively, and unfortunately, as a basic enhancement of the mood.
It’s hard to see a story with the lack of dynamics throughout the album, but when listened to individually, the tracks make for excellent spots on long road trips and dance mixtapes.

-Lukas Truckenbrod