Search - Cheer-Accident :: Introducing Lemon

Phenomenological Masterpiece!

10/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best Cheer-Accident album, and one of the best albums I've ever heard! It's really hard to say what "genre" of music this is. It's really hard to describe how this sounds. All I can say is I've had it for a weekend, and listened to it 20 times. This is an album you can listen to over and over and always pick up something new that you didn't hear. It's overwhelmingly complex but the complexity is well done... Not a bunch of parts strung together, but a fluid masterpiece! If you're a Cheer-Accident fan, you will love this. If you've never heard the band, this is where to start. If you (for whatever incomprehensible reason) don't like Cheer-Accident, try this one... This is not only my favorite Cheer-Accident album, but one of my all time favorite albums EVER! 5 stars is not enough!"

Bloated -- could have been 20 minutes long

Todd Grady | Evanston, IL | 06/12/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Someone told me I would like this record, so I borrowed it and gave it a listen... The prog rock influence is pretty obvious, but there are plenty of prog rock bands out there, and a lot of them are better than these guys.



The problem with this record is that it is too long and, much like a hot dog, has very little meat and a lot of filler.



I liked the first 5 minutes or so, then it lost me on a repetitive acoustic guitar hootenanny. There are about 20 minutes of really great music on a CD that is about 70+ minutes long.



These guys are like prog rock that "jams econo". No mellotrons or fat analog synths. It's prog rock played indie style. This just does not work for me.



I'm really surprised Steve Albini recorded this. It doesn't sound as good as what usually comes out of his studio. Then again, garbage in, garbage out... If you record bad sounding instruments, they will sound bad no matter who records it. It sounds like it was dubbed on some lossy digital device. You can definately hear digital compression artifacts when listening on monitors.



I too long for the days of the 70's, but not many of today's artists are up to snuff. One main reason is that no one will appreciate the hard work, and it definately doesn't pay off. But excuses don't make for good music. I'd much rather beef up my collection of great, original 70's progressive rock than hear an above-average attempt to expand on this sound.



20 minutes of this record are really amazing. The rest is boring. The problem is, the 20 minutes are spread across multiple tracks. So you can't just skip the wonder bread. You have to eat the whole sandwich."

A Precise, Diverse Masterpiece

10/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The album starts with a stuttering and precise progression that seems to be forming a lopsided musical ellipse, before it devolves into a droned coda of alternating horns, guitars, and buzzes. The coda is abbreviated by a movement of pounding atonal riff rock, which evolves with alacrity into a memorable melodic lilt that could serve as background music in a triumph-of-the-human-spirit film. All this occurs by the sixth minute of INTRODUCING LEMON's twenty-plus minute opener, "The Autumn Wind is a Pirate." By this point in the album, one is on notice that this is not a typical album. Cheer-Accident is known (by those who know them) for their ability to play complex and varied progressive music, ranging in style from pop-ish to metal-ish to experimental-ish to just plain weird-ish. INTRODUCING LEMON is probably more complex and varied in and of itself than any other album the band has released. The album is a well-planned effort in terms of composition and sound documentation, and the appreciative listener will be rewarded abundantly. By way of description . . . "The Day I Never Met You" begins with a memorable progressive pop hook accompanied by well-delivered vocals before disappearing into a sea of sparse but bold reverberated piano, which falls back into an patient full-on rock mantra. The track ends after three well-defined movements and flows into the similarly thematic instrumental effort "(The) Men's Wide Open." Thus flows INTRODUCING LEMON, which feels like a grand symphony comprised of six mini-symphonies plus a few musical vignettes (e.g., the bizarre subtle electro-pop ditty, "Camp O' Physique"). Indeed, several of the songs are quasi-classical in structure, if not sound. In an extreme variation of a form utilized on 2000's SALAD DAYS, INTRODUCING LEMON is bookended by contemplative epics that double as the strongest tracks on the album. "Find" closes the show with progressive grandeur: catchy (downright poppy) in the early stage, slow and gradual in the middle, all the while building to one last jagged and conclusive groove meant to puzzle (and amaze?) till the bitter end. INTRODUCING LEMON will secure the band's legacy in all regards, and one can only hope that this gem will aid the band in receiving their due regard from both the music media of the present and the music historians of the future. Always interesting and never imitable, Cheer-Accident have produced their first masterpiece since 1997's ENDURING THE AMERICAN DREAM. If you give this one a chance, you will not be disappointed."