Aural Fixations
THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES
Welcome to the Infant Freebase (Telegram/Hidden Agenda)
Extended Revelation (Telegram/Hidden Agenda)
Behind the Music (Telegram/Hidden Agenda)
Most bands tend to be heavily influenced by one particular era (60s, 80s) or style (punk, psychedelia), with variations on the formula as needed. Then there's Sweden's The Soundtrack of Our Lives, who synthesize every style of music they've ever loved into one cohesive whole. Formed in 1994 out of the wreckage of legendary underground band Union Carbide Productions, TSOOL uses all the rock to which its members have ever listened as a basis for its own melodic excursions. They draw on everything from 60s psychedelia to 70s arena rock to 90s Britpop, from Love and the MC5 to Neil Young and Simon & Garfunkel and every era of the Who. The band borrows a lick here or pays tribute there, but rather than engaging the audience in a game of spot-the-influence, it prefers to sound most like itself. Having found a measure of success in Sweden, including award nominations and a prestigious gig opening for the Rolling Stones (at the Stones' invitation), TSOOL has finally licensed its three albums, including its latest Behind the Music, to America.
Welcome to the Infant Freebase is the kind of self-assured debut album most bands would kill to make. It's got psychedelic pop songs ("Magic Muslims," "Rest in Piece") that recall Love in its prime, exhilarating anthems ("Instant Repeater '99," "Firmament Vacation") that sound like a less monochromatic Oasis and pretty ballads ("Senior Breakdown," "Four Ages") of no specific vintage. There doesn't seem to be a rock style the sextet hasn't mastered. Yet for all its wide-ranging impulses, TSOOL never lets the record sound like a various artists compilation. There's an amazing consistency in both song quality and sonic attack. This is partly due to the combo's winning way with melody, as they never fail to pepper the songs with anything less than memorable hooks or chord progressions. But it's due just as much to vocalist Ebbot Lundberg, whose vibrant vocals have the perfect balance of grit and polish to work with any tune. There really aren't any breakout members, though; everybody works hard to present a unified group identity. TSOOL creates a mellisonant wall of sound that would make Phil Spector proud. There are 20 songs on Freebase, and not one is a dud. Not many of TSOOL's contemporaries have a quality-to-quantity ration that high.
Wrapped in graphics that would give 4AD fans an orgasm, Extended Revelation eases back on the loud rock just a tad, pushing the group's dreamier side forward in the mix. "So step inside and feed your head," Lundberg sings in "Psychomantum X2000," in case we don't get the message. With slightly lower fidelity than before, TSOOL makes its debt to 60s psychedelia obvious on songs like "Century Child" and "Aqua Year." The swirling textures sound more timeless on tunes like "From Gravity to Gold," "Let It Come Alive" and "Serpentine Age Queen," and the band doesn't blow up anthems like "Black Star" to quite the same titanic size as on the debut. Lundberg gives a more restrained performance as well; he's especially effective on the beautiful "Love Song #3105." The group never gets so far out there that it diminishes the typically strong melodies, and while the hooks aren't as blatant as on Freebase, they're still potent enough to ensnare any willing fish. Though not quite the brash statement of purpose Freebase is, Extended Revelation is still quite the tasty meal. Founding guitarist Bjorn Olsson, Lundberg's partner since the Union Carbide days, retired following this album's completion.
Behind the Music, TSOOL's latest album, cranks the rock quotient back up while keeping the psych influence prominent. Olsson's absence doesn't seem to have hurt the sextet—they're still masters of the anthemic rocker ("Infra Riot," "The Flood") and the dreamy ballad ("Broken Imaginary Time," "In Your Veins," "Tonight"). They've also added new arrows to their quiver. A batch of straightforward pop rockers, including "21st Century Rip Off," "Sister Surround" and "Still Aging," consists of some of the combo's catchiest, most immediately appealing tunes. They also slip some semi-acoustic midtempo charmers like "Mind the Gap," "Ten Years Ahead" and "Nevermore" into their repertoire. Regardless of the particular turn the songs take, they always boast the singalong melodies that are fast becoming TSOOL's trademark. Behind the Music consolidates the band's numerous strengths into an album that in a fair universe would dominate every rock playlist. This is one of those rare bands which remains accessible while following its own instincts, and which can nod to its influences without being dominated by them. In the increasingly moribund rock galaxy, The Soundtrack of Our Lives is a supernova. Michael Toland
For fans of: the Verve, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Guided By Voices
