Search - Alpha Cat :: Pearl Harbor

"Pearl Harbor" alludes to a wide assortment of early influences. Artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell?s songwriting made an impact for their ability to portray raw emotions through straighforward, though sometimes extensive imagery. Soul tunes from early Motown (Smokey, Marvin, Aretha, Gladys) to Prince made a big impact, as did pure popsters from Dionne Warwick's Burt Bacharach songs, to the Hollies and Tom Petty. Others, like Squeeze, the Cure, early REM, the Replacementts, and Elvis Costello were impressive for their combination of pop simplicity with a darker mood and sound. Beck is a more recent influence, for his success at densely packing mixed metaphors into a playful, accessible form which invites, rather than demands, deeper examination. In this latest release, songs such as the title track examine the experiences many of us have had when false comfort and feelings of safety are suddenly interrupted and shattered by a shocking event. Thatched Roof Glass House looks at relationships where we convince ourselves we are connected, only to later find that the others? (invisible) walls are our own. Straw Hat continues the theme with what McCullough describes as "an almost verbatim narrative which became something of a fable on the page. You meet someone and are instantly sucked in by their charm, only for them to disappear as quickly as they came. Leaving you with nothing but a memory, and forcing you to examine that part of yourself that they?ve mirrored back to you." Sometimes When I Wake, with it?s introductory portrayal of a lonely dinner drinking, smoking and channel-surfing, delves into the darkest territory of all, where you don't care to answer the phone, "everything you do is wrong" and yet you still somehow find hope in the light of day. They say that the harshest cynics are the truest optimists. The sojourn through Pearl Harbor ends on a most hopeful note, with the song Cling, inspired by the I Ching. A testament to the old cheese-pop adage "hold on loosely, but don't let go..." Desire for love vs. a need for Independence, the eternal challenge.