Aural Fixations

ORWELL
Following Days
(Hidden Agenda)
Does it make anybody uncomfortable that we now live in an age where corporations use Soundscan to find out if consumers prefer Tricia Yearwood to Leann Rimes so that they can know which video to play on VH-1 or which artists to play in the store? Is it just the latest sign that George Orwell's vision of futurism as projected in 1984 could be coming to pass? What kind of music, if any, would be able to exist in a totalitarian vacuum such as the one Orwell tried to teach us to fear?

In these days of capitalism, where dollar is king, a band called Orwell can use their French connections, their citizenship and a nifty little sticker on their packaging as a means to ally themselves with (and to capitalize on) the latest wave of French pop. This includes of course Air, Tahiti 80 and, my personal favorite, Fugu (who contribute to a track on this CD). Since we have thousands of new bands to choose from whenever we pull out our twelve bucks, a little name-dropping or clever allying like this doesn't hurt. And let's face it, when we meet a potential mate, we ask them questions about what their favorite movie or book is in order to help make a decision as to whether we fancy their genetic attributes or not.

Thankfully, the band Orwell's namedropping influenced my decision to snatch up a copy of their debut, Following Days. In the tradition of some of the bands mentioned above, Orwell is built upon classical arrangements of keyboards, strings and vocals, rather than guitars. Missing are many of the notable blues or otherwise African-American influences that have marked most rock music for decades. Orwell's pop is rather informed by some of the pervading musical ideals of baroque pop, French chanson, Brazilian jazz and English music hall. Flawless production and orchestrations demonstrate a devotion to nuance, abstraction and conceptual perfection, rather than to raw or kinetic ideals. Orwell deconstructs and picks up the pieces of "white music" with a techno aesthete and a gesture to the peaceful, blasé surface of gay Paris (post war of course).

Following Days is a really good record—in fact, it's one of the best pieces of eclectic Euro-pop I've heard since Le Mans' Aqui Vivia Yo. The wisely chosen opening selections, "Tout les Nouvelles Parlent d'Hier" and "Fear of Mars" (one of a handful of songs sung in Engli$h), are epic orchestrations with sunny animations, subtly detailed vocal patches and musically educated interludes that grow on a listener with repeated trials. Orwell quickly shows an undeniable musicality and the smarts to pull off two longer pop songs (four minutes each!) without losing steam. Both also feature extended outro sections that reward the listener with interesting chord changes and melodic inventions. My personal favorite of the two is "Fear of Mars" for its keen attention to songcraft, reminiscent of the unique talents of XTC in their prime. Now get ready to hear some hip comparisons, fellow geekballs. "Une si Belle Aventure" and "A nous" show Orwell riding the primitive drum machine sounds of recent re-discovery Shuggie Otis, as well as mirroring the post rock/loungecore sounds of Broadcast and, to a lesser extent, Goldfrappe. Suffice to say, this is not music that will incite you to violence. Likewise, "San Cesse" scares with its Abba-esque artifice.

"Live On" combines IDM drums (read: Boards of Canada) and a heavenly piano with the sustain pedal nailed to the floor. The odd and emotive "L'arriere-boutique pt.1" paints a picture of Michael Brown (Left Banke) thinking jazz. Both begin with classically arranged string introductions rivaling the best work of any contemporary pop arranger. With an Eggman cello, "Devinir" looks to the smacky sounds of Lennon's first record. "L'arriere-boutique pt.2" sounds like it could be a Bruce Johnston composition from 20/20, despite its having all mod cons. "Comme Ceuxö" annoys with Virgin Suicides-like spoken word. Sorry, Sean O'Hagan. (more)

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