Search - Iris :: Awakening

Great production, but the songwriting needs work.

Angry Mofo | 02/10/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"One day, vocalist Reagan Jones replaced all the other members of his band Iris with electronica producer Andrew Sega. It was a brilliant move. Sega might be the most talented producer working today. In the mid-to-late nineties, under the name of Necros, he composed some of the best, most creative electronic music of all time. In 2001, he opened his own label, Diffusion Records, and released two albums under the name The Alpha Conspiracy. Awakening is the second Iris album, but it's the first to be recorded after Sega joined.



Sega's work on this album is excellent. In some ways, it's a dream come true for fans of his earliest work who dreamed that Necros would one day join a full-fledged band and break into the mainstream. In fact, the music in Awakening is similar to his sound in those days: strong and energetic, but very clean, without dissonance. The opening chords of "Whatever" could have come from any one of his MODs. That song and many others begin with a gentle, slow part that suddenly bursts into a big, expansive, melodic rush. In "Sorrow Expert," for instance, the rush is created using many fast, droning electronic keyboard notes, which seem to shimmer as they ring against one another. Sega also uses guitars sometimes, creating the right dramatic tension in the chorus of "Whatever."



It makes me wish there were more. The album contains few instrumental stretches, and thus few powerful riffs like in "Martian Lovesong" from the first Alpha Conspiracy album or "Wishing Never" from the second. Sega is mostly relegated to providing a rhythmic backing favourable to the voice of Reagan Jones. He does a superb job of it. For instance, when Jones carries a long note in "You're The Answer," Sega cushions his vocals in droning distortion and echo, creating the energetic feel that Jones was undoubtedly going for.



But Jones is meant to be the star. He's a competent singer. He doesn't strain his voice too much, and displays some theatrical charisma. Most of the songs have some inventive rhythmic structure for the lyrics, along with big choruses that are repeated many times for the full radio-friendly effect. They could have easily released four or five singles off the album; in particular "Whatever," "Sorrow Expert" or even "When I'm Not Around" could have been huge successes.



The problem lies in Jones's lyrics, which consist of sincere, earnest and impenetrably vague exhortations. Anyone can write an Iris song. All you need to do is come up with some combination of emotive general phrases like "I," "you," "pain," "everything," "meaning," "this way," "this life," and then abuse the pronoun "it" without explaining what you're referring to, e.g. "find a way to make it better."



Jones also writes awkward things in order to make his lyrics fit the rhythm. In "Whatever," he says, "Last night I had a once-in-a-life understanding of all / I'd tell you but it doesn't mean a thing." Indeed it doesn't, and furthermore, "once-in-a-life" and "understanding of all" sound clumsy. In "Sentimental Scars," he says, "Pain is a wonderful emotion." It's odd to describe pain as an emotion. "Sensation" would have been more accurate, though it wouldn't have rhymed. The opening lines of "Unknown" are "I understand but I don't listen / Too perfect school for this tuition," which is so garbled that I can't tell what he's trying to say. And so on.



The word "pain" occurs frequently in Iris lyrics. Jones is forthright about his pain. In "Sorrow Expert," he announces, "I'm just a sorrow expert now / The more I love, the more I drown." It's a great pop chorus, made even better by Sega's terrific instrumentation. It's also very self-obsessed. But his lyrics are like that, focused exclusively on himself and his feelings, though occasionally addressed to some nebulous, faceless "you." In "Sentimental Scars," he concludes his discourse on pain with the modest admission, "I can tell you I've been there, man / And pain is a wonderful emotion." And in "You're The Answer," he professes sympathy towards "you," on the grounds that "it's hard for you to breathe" and "you don't know what you need." He then offers the following utterly vacuous counsel: "Don't let them take away your dreams / You're the answer."



He delivers these lines with perfect sincerity. His voice sighs, trembles in all the right places. It goes to lower notes in order to affect a tone of world-weary resignation, like in "Whatever" when he says, "I hesitate to ask / A second of your time to tell you how / I came to be so hard on all of us." He's simultaneously wise, worldly, and sensitive. In a way, it's impressive.



Consider "Island," the last song. With Sega's subtle, detailed rhythm track in the background, Jones implores "you" to accompany him to the titular island so he can show you something. Of course he doesn't say what it is. It's just "my dream" and "something you might like." Then, in the chorus, he emotes, "I can feel it now / Oh the place I pray you'll see," with a breathy falsetto on "pray you'll see." There is nothing in these romantic effusions that remotely resembles any kind of real interaction between people. Nothing sensual, nothing carnal or dangerous, not a trace of anything so realistic. If you know a dreamy high-school girl who writes poetry in her notebook, buy this album for her. She'll love it.



You get the point. The album sounds great. It's very enjoyable to listen to, but it's also somewhat superficial. If you're able to ignore the lyrics while enjoying the sound, by all means buy it. If not, maybe Aura by The Alpha Conspiracy would be a better choice."

This is your awakening call !

Moskovich Gil | Kiryat-Gat , Israel | 10/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To all you synthpop fans out there , who haven't hearded yet of "Iris". this album offers a different sound from their debut album (disconnect) , a more mature one. they've also addes few guitars riffs th this one - and made this one even better than

"disconnect". all the songs here are very good."