ALBUM REVIEW: FORGIVE DURDEN'S THE SHADOW OF RAZIA: A MUSICAL

Forgive Durden's new album, Razia's Shadow: A Musical is an interesting creature. Originally envisioned as a side project for lead singer Thomas Dutton, it became his square focus when the band's three other members left the band suddenly. This rather charming and bizarre experiment is a full-on fantasy musical released solely as an album, with a multitude of strong guest singers and some very nice songwriting.

The story follows events in a fantasy world, chronicling two stories: the creation and division of the world into darkness and light, and the romance that would redeem the world and return it to its former glory. While hitting a number of typical cliches in these types of stories, the lyrical style here is very interesting, with some great work done by Dutton.

The first five tracks follow the creation and the rebellion of Ahrima (Thomas Dutton) that leads the world into darkness, and features Dutton, Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter, Lizzie Huffman of Man in the Blue Van, Max Bemis of Say Anything, and Chris Conley of Saves the Day. I'm not familiar with any of the guest talent in the first half, but they all do fine work, particularly Bemis in the role of the dastardly spider Barayas, who precipitates the climax of this portion.

The last eight tracks are devoted to the bigger story, of redemption and love. This one features Dutton again in the lead role, this time as a character named Adakias. This stronger half features Danny Stevens of The Audition, Dan Young of This Providence, John Baldwin Gourley of Portugal. The Man, Kris Anaya of An Angle, Brandon Urie of Panic at the Disco, Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound, Nic Newsham of Gatsbys American Dream, and Shawn Harris of The Matches. Again, of this half the only contributor I am familiar with is Urie, as I'm a big fan of his band.

It's in this second half where the album really takes off. Dutton's character isn't particularly memorable, considering how much he shares with most fantasy heroes, but luckily the guest cast carry this story well, though I wish all of the more memorable players had gotten more voice time. The plotting anc characterization is weak, and it relies on the singers themselves to infuse their characters with something extra, and many of the contributers do just that. Brandon Urie as the hero's devilish brother demands the role with relish, adding a swagger and making sure the character wasn't pure caricature; Shawn Harris' King is very enjoyable as the princess' bastard father; Greta Salpeter elevates the everyprincess role here with a beautiful voice with a kindness to it that would otherwise be completely lightweight; and Shawn Harris creates a fantastic voice for the bonkers doctor charged with saving the princess' life as the story moves towards its final climax. Also deserving of praise was Adam Weiss of mewithoutyou, whose narration is really the lead voice here, despite Dutton's lead role.

You can tell this was inspired by Moulin Rouge and classic Disney musical movies, as Dutton mentioned in an interview with Alternative Press. The story and production feel very much inspired, and it adds a real sense of nostalgia to the proceedings. There's something just calming about recognising much of what's here, even if it undercuts some of the drama (especially in the climax). There's a real epic feeling to the proceedings, and quite a few of the lyrical choices are just plain inspired.

An excellent album, especially anyone who loves musicals and/or old musical Disney flicks. Perhaps not for everyone, but something I can't stop listening to anyhow. Seek it out.

Forgive Durden - Meet the King (feat. Nic Newsham and Greta Salpeter) [The Shadow of Razia: A Musical, 2008]

Forgive Durden - Doctor Doctor (feat. Shawn Harris) [The Shadow of Razia: A Musical, 2008]

Forgive Durden - Holy the Sea (feat. John Gourley and Kris Anaya) [The Shadow of Razia: A Musical, 2008]

And don't forget, search for more at The Hype Machine; purchase albums or mp3's at Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amie St., cdbaby, or Insound.

SHOWCASE: THE VITAMIN STRING QUARTET

One of the most steady, intriguing collections out there is Vitamin Records' set of stunning string quartet tributes. Running the gamut from Evanescence to Tool to Alanis Morissette, they've covered a lot of bases, and have done it beautifully. I'd like to introduce some of my favourite works from my small sampling of their releases.

Vitamin String Quartet - There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Though Of It Yet (Panic at the Disco cover)
Vitamin String Quartet - Nine in the Afternoon (Panic at the Disco cover)
Vitamin String Quartet - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Panic at the Disco cover)

Vitamin String Quartet - Somewhere a Clock is Ticking (Snow Patrol cover)
Vitamin String Quartet - Run (Snow Patrol cover)

Vitamin String Quartet - How Soon is Now? (The Smiths cover)
Vitamin String Quartet - Miss Misery (Elliott Smith cover)

These are all flawless, layered translations that, while all performed by a string quartet, mange to have a variety in tone and feel while all sounding grand. Enjoy!

And don't forget, search for more at The Hype Machine; purchase albums or mp3's at Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amie St., cdbaby, or Insound.

TRACK REVIEW: PANIC AT THE DISCO'S "NINE IN THE AFTERNOON"

"It's only THE END OF THE WORLD!"


It had to happen eventually. After denying the 'emo' label since the release of their excellent debut, Panic at the Disco (who have recently shed their trademark '!' as well) have finally proved all their critics wrong by releasing a song that is far from any form of emo. They've stated they looked to their parents' generation for inspiration, like the Beach Boys and the Beatles, and you can hear it in this genuinely excited, laidback rock song. The vocals are smooth and hopeful, the beat is as strong as on any of their previous works, but the anger has been replaced with just excitement, which they wear just as well.

Few bands manage to reinvent themselves nearly so well, and maybe it's because they didn't feel their first album's sound was what defined them, unlike what most media thought. Panic always had an air of the bizarre to their lyrics, and maybe that's the main correlation between "Nine" and the stuff from A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Check out the main chorus of "Nine"

It's nine in the afternoon,
Your eyes are the size of the moon
You could 'cause you can so you do
We're feeling so good
Just the way that we do
When it's nine in the Afternoon

It's charming and disarming and definitely a little quirky, which fits in with the nitro-glycerin cigarettes from "These Tables are Numbered" and their circus-themed live shows. While I loved the anger, smarm and yelling from the first album, I'm happy to say Pretty. Odd. is looking pretty good as well.

Panic at the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon [Pretty. Odd. 2008] (Yousendit link)
Panic at the Disco - She Had the World [Pretty. Odd. 2008] (Yousendit link)

Buy Panic here or here.