The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - 5A
Father Christmas
Trapped in a rookie rut
Bob Dylan's all-time
merriest album
By MIKE KUNTZ
Daily Arts Writer
I know what you're thinking.
Yes, that Bob
Dylan, and, yes, ***
that holiday - the
same holiday that Bob Dylan
has borne count-
less other cutesy Christmas in
cover albums over the Heart
the years. What Columbia
could possibly
be going through his 68-year-old
head? True, Dylan is no crooner,
especially now. But this is Dylan
after all, and we should know
better than to judge a book by its
cover - heck, Blood on the Tracks
has one of the worst album covers
of all time.
While the idea of a Dylan Christ-
mas album might seem cheap and
misguided, Christmas In the Heart,
contrary to what one might expect,
doesn't sound a bit odd or out of
place. In fact, it's simply delightful:
Far from being transformed (even
with Dylan at the helm), these clas-
sic tracks retain all the warmth of
a Yuletide fire. And their familiar
breeziness is enough to disarm even
the most furrowed brows of Dylan
fanatics and naysayers alike.
The album arrives more than two
months prior to Christmas in order
to raise money for Feeding America,
acharitythatfeedstheimpoverished
nationwide. Dylan agreed to donate
all of his royalties from Heart to the
organization, hoping that, by releas-
ing the album a few months early, its
proceeds might help the homeless
stay fed through the holidays. Quite
the guy, that Bob.
Dylan has worn many hats over
the course of his storied career, and
with Christmas in the Heart he mer-
rily dons Santa's cap for a collection
oftraditional Christmas songs. Hav-
ing crafted an entire career around
retooling American traditional
music, Dylan is tamer with the
By KRISTYN ACHO
For the Daily
Most listeners probably got
their first taste
of The Temper *i
Trap's frothy
sound from The
"500 Days of TemperTrap
Summer." After
appearinginthe Conditions
film, the song Glassnote
"Sweet Disposi-
tion" became an overnight sensa-
tion and practically every indie
blog was citing The Temper Trap
as 2009's "Band to Watch."
But after months of anticipa-
tion for the band's debut album
Conditions, it looks like The Tem-
per Trap may not be destined for
anything more than mere back-
ground music. Leaving behind its
underground persona, the Aussie
quartet has fallen into the trap
of mainstream stadium-primed
indie pop. Conditions feels like a
sell-out, relying on insipid lyrics
and repetitive guitar riffs. We've
heard it all before - and we've
heard it done better by the likes
of Coldplay and U2. And that's
not sayingmuch.
To be fair, Conditions has its high
moments. "Sweet Disposition"
and "The Science of Fear" are the
album's saviors. On "Sweet Dispo-
sition," electric keyboard breezily
plays over Dougy Mandagi's sweet
falsettos, creating atmospheric
and unforgettable melodies.While
the "Science of Fear" may have a
predictable rhythm, it's emotion-
ally gripping and doesn't let up
until the song's end.
Next, "Down River" is a jovial
sing-along that mixes chant-
ing vocals and an orchestra of
instruments including horns,
organs and guitars. The outcome
is a vivid rhythm that builds over
Mandagi's dreamy yelps, and the
song feels as though it could have
been taken directly from Arcade
Inexcusably
lacking in flow.
Fire's Neon Bible. On the sponta-
neous and upbeat "Down River,"
the band finally foregoes its musi-
cal insecurities and lets loose.
The six-minute "Soldier On"
is a haunting track complete
with pulsing guitar parts and a
wailing chorus. It hobbles along
against a depressing and pain-
ful backdrop, relying on tired,
moody and brooding lyrics like,
"Death will you take me tonight,"
and "Keep your heart close to the
ground." The first four minutes
are entranced in acoustic syn-
chronizations before awkwardly
shifting into a dismal rock bal-
lad. Between the dark lyrics and
meandering base, the cacophony
is all too overwhelming.
Mandagi's wide-ranging, high-
pitched vocals are what make the
album memorable. But in tracks
like "Fader," they come off as irri-
tating in a way that can only be
rivaled by the signature skills of
Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos.
"Fader" is The Temper Trap's
shameless attempt at a pop song.
Between the incessant "woo-
hoos" and throwback electric beat,
the track proves to be saccharinely
sweet, like eating cake frosting
straight from the tube - it seems
like the best idea at the time, but
regret inevitably follows. The band
will probably look back on this
attempt to diverge into uncharted
music genres and cringe.
Conditions is a debut album in
every sense of the word. From its
quaint and mainstream pop songs
to its hardcore indie-depression
ballads, it's obvious these guys
struggled to find their point of
view. While Mandagi's bouncing
vocals save the album from com-
plete failure, the album's lack of
fluidity is inexcusable for a band
with so much apparent potential.
COURTESY OF COLUMBIA
All royalties from Christmas in the Heart will be donated to Feeding America.
American Christmas canon, revisit-
ing classics like "Silver Bells," "Little
Drummer Boy" and "The Christmas
Song" in all their tacky glory. Dylan
and his band keep the arrangements
traditional as well, with the record
packing enough musical nostalgia
to match even that most nostalgic of
holidays.
Appropriately enough, a jan-
gling of bells starts the record with
a jolly take on the staple "Here
Comes Santa Claus." A few tracks
later comes "Winter Wonderland,"
replete with female backup singers,
festive arrangements (glockenspiel
and the ever-present jingle bells to
name a few) and lightly brushed
drums. Just a few tracks in, it
becomes apparent that the idea
to make a Christmas record was
indeed a fantastic one: Between the
tastefully jazzy guitars, barbershop
backup vocals and Dylan's elder
growl, it's a wonder Dylan didn't
think of this earlier.
Dylan's voice of late has been
particularly gravelly, evident on his
recent Together Though Life and
especially during his live shows,
and it's no different here. But while
Together Through Life found Dylan
at least attempting some semblance
of his past drawl, Dylan shows his
age here with pride, evoking Louis
Armstrong more than anyone else.
Strangely enough, singing like the
Satchmo suits him well, and Dylan's
wintry rasp makes for the perfect
soundtrack to break out a wool
sweater and sip eggnogto.
Whether or not Dylan's heart
grew three sizes to make this
album, there's no denying Heart's
sweetness. Dylan's weathered
voice lends the songs a poignan-
cy that few can match (save for
maybe Tom Waits). And, thanks
to his band, the record plays like
a kitschier - albeit similarly wist-
ful - A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Though it's clear Dylan's getting
old, he's certainly aging well. And
with Christmas in the Heart, he's
starting to sound a lot like Christ-
mas, too.
Foe a slideshow of other photos from Friday's Wilco Wilco's Jeff Tweedy (left) and John Stirratt (right) perform
concert, go to michigandaily.com/blogs/thetfilter this past Friday at Hill Auditorium. It was the band's first
show in Ann Arbor since 2005.
HAIR
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