Cursive - Happy Hollow ADVANCE

Cursive - Happy Hollow
Release: August 22, 2006 - Saddle Creek Records
In a 2006 independent music world, where bands from Omaha are becoming less and less important/good, Cursive will attempt to follow up 2003's brilliant The Ugly Organ. Happy Hollow, Cursive's new record which comes out August 22nd, seems anemic and bloated, and finds lead singer/songwriter Tim Kasher playing to everything but his strengths.
Similar to how The Ugly Organ displayed its thematic melodrama through recurring themes and musical devices (aka, the organ... duh), happy hollow starts and finishes with variations on 'Hymns for the Heathen'. Furthermore it lyrics center around a grown up 'Dorothy' (presumably from the Wizard of Oz) who is a disillusioned and failing to cope with the pressures of modern day life. The whole record, therefore, seems to laugh in the face of the 'happily ever after' ideal.
Musically, Happy Hollow too closely resembles Kasher's side project The Good Life, with bouncing choruses and twangy riffs and chord progressions that have never been seen on a Cursive record. This latest version of Cursive, of course, hits harder than the Good Life ever could, mainly because Cursive's drummer Clint Schnase is light years better than everyone that Kasher has enlisted to drum for the Good Life (they all seem to suck balls). Most pronounced, however, is the loss of Cursive's wicked cellist Gretta. Her presence is dearly missed, as she brought unique depth and textures to both of Cursive's finest achievements; 2002's Burst and Bloom EP and the aforementioned Ugly Organ. Her parts are now replaced by unfortunate horns (see track 1 of Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News). The result is terribly disappointing.
The lyrical content of Happy Hollow is also a let down. The themes, while appreciated, are not at coherent or compelling as they have been in the past. The common thread of Dorothy being older and worn down by the daily work routine is interesting, but far from being as weighty as in, say Domestica or The Ugly Organ. Also interspersed throughout the record are pointed stabs at organized religion, preachers, and god him/herself.
This is where I see the greatest weakness of the record: Kasher's jaded view on religion.
In 'Rise Up! Rise Up!' Kasher proclaims 'Please forgive me for questioning divinity, its an ugly job, but I think I'm up for it...' No Tim, you're not. His blanket statements of not knowing where to find god, or people who live like they believe in him/her are overdone and hardly why we listen to Tim Kasher. In the song 'Big Bang' Kasher whines, "We need a purpose in life, a survival guide, we need explanations for how we arrived, there was a big bang once... but the clergy man doesn't agree..."

The reason I listen to Tim Kasher, and why have savored every moment of their last three records, is because of his incredible self-consciousness and avid description of his human condition. Mainly, I listen to Tim Kasher for the same reason I listen to Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers), because they put to words what your dark side feels and fears. The existential commentary coming from Kasher is, therefore, rendered rather pathetic. Not that I don't have great sympathy for his positions, I would just rather listen to these things from a Jeremy Enigk, or a Jason Martin, or a David Bazan.

All of this leads me to feel quite disappointed with Cursive's new direction, lineup, and record. There are songs that I reluctantly have to say are just bad songs. Musically, I fear he's strayed too far to the Good Life, and lyrically it seems Kasher has strayed too far from himself.

That isn't to say, however, that the album does not have its highlights. The intro for 'Dorothy at Forty' is, in fact, fucking rock. It is the kind of rock and roll guitar/bass/drum movement that made me fall in love with Cursive's Domestica all those years ago. The song, however, ends up breaking into a bouncy number which ends up too quirky to withstand the weight of the song.

Slower songs, however, like 'Bad Sects' and 'Into the Fold' are perhaps the albums best songs, as musically they are reminiscent of 'The Recluse'. It is actually in these quieter songs that Kasher's amazingly dynamic voice is displayed best, and it is in these few quiet moments where it sounds most genuine. Unfortunately, though, the quirky inauthentic moments overwhelm any of the sincerity hidden in Happy Hollow.

RIYL: The Good Life, Bright Eyes