Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army

Polyphonic Spree
The Fragile Army
(2007, TVT)
5.0/10

I was converted to the Polyphonic gospel pretty late in the game. I didn't really listen or like them until Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which I didn't see until it had been out over a year) helped me fall in love with "Light and Day." I really really loved their 2003 release, The Beginning Stages of... with its crawling beautiful instrumentations that lead into swelling anthemic choruses. The new release, The Fragile Army, is pretty much the same thing, but sans the crawling beautiful instrumentation. It's straight pop anthems, with the whole chorus singing almost the entire album. As much as I loved the occasional anthems in "The Beginning Stages of..." now it's just overboard. Seriously, it never lets up. It's so overly enthusiastically amblemic. I find it pretty annoying actually. I was very much looking forward to this release, but am sorely disappointed. They somehow digressed into a strummy overdose of happy. It's not a horrible album, but it's definitely not a great album. I would maybe turn it on as background music while cleaning the house or something.

- Sassigrass