ariels – bent | freedom

i have been listening to bent’s third ablum continuously since i purchased it a few weeks ago. many of the online reviewers have stated that they don’t like bent’s departure from their usual sound – some comments being that their original sound was more quirky. personally i find their new album an evolution of their sound, not a departure from it, and it certainly still contains the signature bent sound. sure there are more vocals now, and perhaps more polished and detailed programming, but it’s what they want to do. if you want the sound of the first album, listen to the first album. i’m not saying people should like the third ablbum at all – if it’s not to their tastes, fine – but it doesn’t make bent a bad pair of guys just because they no longer cater to their old fans. for me u2’s best album was achtung baby, and the evolutionary progression through zooropa and pop is natural and one i absolutely identify with, but pop is their least popular album – which suits me fine. now that their sound is reverting back to their classical sound, i don’t hate the band, nor do i hate all that you can’t leave behind and how to dismantle an atomic bomb – i just don’t listen to them – they’re a band, and free to do whatever the hell they want. i’m satisfied with what i take from them, and others are free to feel the same way.

in this album, bent experiement with a far broader spectrum of musical styles, including 50s rock ballad – which i must say has been effortlessly morphed into the bent style, as have all the styles and i would say that this album more than the others shows influence from air (french band). the best track on the album easily is ‘as you fall’, which incidentally has been remixed fantastically by micah and appears on shiloh’s february mix available from hybridized.org, highlights are the instrumental ‘on the lake’, ‘sing me’, and the 50s classic styled ‘silent life’. right from the opener ‘comin’ back’, especially followed up by ‘Sunday 29th’, the sound of ariels is very much about freedom, and it’s exactly how i feel when i listen to it, be it with cans (headphones) at night before i sleep, while i’m reading in the studio or driving. for me the album is very much about movement, a progressive journey. it has an energetic enthusiasm that is consistent throughout the album, in a way even in the quieter tracks, that really makes the album as a whole an artwork. many albums these days (yeah right – what a thing for a 23 year old to say…) are fairly horrendously constructed, with no progression throughout the album. while i was at the studio a few years ago, i had to listen to and analyze justin timberlake’s justified. sure, it’s not my taste in music, but i must say that the programming, engineering, and construction of the first five tracks are absolutely brilliant. the neptunes’ production qualities are very high, stylistically unique. sure i find the whole thing a bit pony, but that doesn’t stop me appreciating a fair effort when it’s been put in. however after the first half is over, the remainder of the album is absolute junk – most likely because most of the good tracks were commercially released, and the beast that is pop-music only wants their listeneres to play the first few tracks anyway. even the first strong five aren’t planned out in how they relate to one another, with the excpetion of the opening track indeed being a strong and apporopriate opener. justified is not an ‘album’ in the classical sense – a collection of songs or pieces of music with a common purpose, that being a communication of ideas from an artist. it’s just a collection of singles and filler. one of the best albums in respects to artwork, would have to be planet funk’s non zero sumness. it is a perfect album, arguable tarnished by ‘who said (stuck in the uk)’ which sticks out like a sore thumb as totally disconnected from the direction of the album. it really was a money spinner for them, but the album itself otherwise is flawless. u2’s achtung baby, infact zooropa and pop as-well can be listed, along with basically anything underworld have done ever… well, not counting that pony inxs crap they did in the 80s, but everything from dubnobasswithmyheadman to hundreddaysoff is brilliant.

bent’s ariels easily joins these greats as an artwork – their first two albums are also fantastic, but they’re more fun, and in a way even more vibrant, but ariels shows bent really maturing into their sound and developing a more refined and intelligent sound. it’s good to know that good artists will grow with you.

listening to ariels today on the way to work, i pulled in to a service station to fill-up. there’s something amazing about filling my car with petrol and knowing it will drive for 600ks before needing more fuel. it’s not a brilliant car, not new or sporty, but it’s reliable and mine, and not uncomfortable. driving while listening to great music has become one of my most treasured things to do, especially late at night when there’s no traffic. music and movement is always so emotive – in a way i’ve traded driving for walking around in the city with cans on listening to music, but i know if i really want to i can head out, park somewhere and do that when i need to. generally if i can i like to spend time with people, so i don’t mind at all that being a priority. just last night Jack was over until 4am this morning – we watched an eddie izzard dvd first, but that was only about an hour and a half, then after that we talked for hours.

freedoms come in many forms, and there is no sacrifice made for freedom between friends. challenges there are a-plenty, but i’m not afraid of them at all – and life is ever growing, expanding and always infinite.