(Domino)
Grant Hart, a central member of the seminal alternative rock group
Hüsker Dü, returns with a bold expansive double
album The Arguement
inspired by John Milton's 17th
century epic poem Paradise Lost.
The poem is based on events of the Old Testament,
telling the tale of the fall of man; following Adam and Eve, their
temptation by Satan and the resulting expulsion from the Garden of
Eden. Hart has been working on his solo career over the last decade
or so, following the break up of Hüsker Dü in the late eighties and
Nova Mob, which he fronted through the ninties, and has been steadily
releasing albums under his own name since then, including
collaborations with Godspeed You! Black Emporor.
Grant is no stranger
to double albums, with Hüsker Dü's second album Zen
Arcade being widely regarded as their
defining work, outstripping the scope and ambition of the average
hardcore punk band of the day. He also went on to release another
double album, Last Days of Pompeii,
with Nova Mob in the 1990s, though The
Arguement might be the biggest and most
ambitous concept album he has attempted to put together, suitably
grandiose for its subject matter.
Whilst
still mantaining many of the rock sensibilities his last few solo
albums have displayed, this is an altogether more chalenging and
experimental affair. Out of Chaos starts of with disconcerting
almost-meodies just about falling together as a backing for Hart to
calm speak of how the 'Heaven and the Earth
rose up in chaos' before the following
track Morningstar, a more straight forward rock song, really kicks
things off. Letting Me Out is energetic and upbeat. The optimistic
line 'There's a blue sky waiting for me'
rings out above a rock and roll progression strummed out on acoustic
guitars over a rolling tom drum rhythm. Elsewhere, (It Was A) Most
Disturbing Dream is filled with a messy glam rock swagger straight
from the early seventies whilst on I Will Never See My Home Hart
deploys ghostly synthesizers to underpin his bleak lyrics, 'I
am looking to escape/From this desloted hellscape/to a place I've
never known/I must carry on alone'.
A
classical feel is given throught the instrumentation, altough the
classic band set up is at the centre, there are organs used
throughout, along with a zither and string sectionsmaking certain the
album never lets itself get pinned down to one style. The
instrumental passages of the apocalyptic War on Heaven, feature
thundering drums alongside wailing sirens noisy guitars and gunfire
and military radio chatter filling in the background and the strange
ukelele lead Underneath the Apple Tree, sounds more inoccent and
jovial than it seems, even containing a kazoo solo, juxtaposing its
innocent musicality with the point of view of the devil in the form
of the tempting snake.
There
is a big sixties pop and rock influence throughout The
Arguement, Golden Chain shows this not
only in the songwriting, but also in the authentic production. The
song is built around a simple grooving bassline and with the addition
of its accompanying backing vocals and primal beat, it sounds like a
leftover song from Jefferson Airplaine's Surrealistic
Pillow period. The album displays Grant's
understanding and admiration for this era on other tracks, from the
bluesy shuffle of Sin to the retro rock beat of I Am Death, as Hart
is at his most theatrical with his lyrical delivery, declaring 'I
Am Death/I Am Fear' as hounds bark
vicously behind him.
Coming across as a
kind of alternative rock musical, with Grant playing all the
characters, taking on some of the larger than life rock 'n' roll
attitude of 70's David Bowie in the process. Though it is a long
record, with its twenty tracks coming in at just over 74 minutes,
dealing with such hefty subject matter helps justify the length. Its
the kind of record you rarely see from an artist this far into their
career, you imagine he made for himself, but fans of his work will
find a lot to admire on this release. You may not follow the album's
wild narrative but The Argument channels a
history of music through a keen ear for a simple melody and
great song writing. What could've easily become an indulgent and
bloated record is instead adventurous and creative, even for those
that are less interested in the albums biblical allusions.
Originally posted on figure8magazine.co.uk
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