Abandoned Pools - Humanistic (2001)
(Wish I could find a higher res image online)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Industrial Rock
After his tenure with The Eels and a couple of other side projects, Tommy Walter devised another project, Abandoned Pools. This is an alternative rock project which released their first album in 2001, but didn't garner much attention until the following year. This album is being reviewed per request. As a reminder, I do not intend
for this to be a really in-depth and complex review. I'm just sharing my quick
personal thoughts on the album. As for any album review I will do, I try to be
objective without letting any personal bias get too much in the way of the
final grade.
Typically, alternative rock seems to have simple song structures in mind based around easy chord progressions. For the most part, this holds true for this album as well, but is done in such a way that most of the tracks on here actually feel fresh. Songs like Mercy Kiss (which is my absolute favorite on this record, thanks in part to an incredibly catchy hook and satisfying riff) and Seed (which features a riff that feels straight out of a cliché heavy metal album, albeit a good one) feature some very aggressive instrumentation, worthy of some headbanging. On the other hand, there's also a balance between more uplifting tracks like Suburban Muse and the appropriately titled Sunny Day.
As with a lot of these alt-rock records of the 21st century, there's some synth use scattered throughout, but it's subtle enough to not detract from the raw instrumentation, and at times, actually works in favor of giving some tracks that little extra flair in tone. Blood actually makes great use of it for it's intro, creating a very dark and foreboding atmosphere that sets up some dark themes about the human condition presented in the song. When I think about it, all of these songs seem to speak to some sort human characteristic, whether it's love, one's mental state, and other similar topics. I can see where the album's title came from... Oh, and as a quick, fun side note, the first few seconds of L.V.B.D. almost sounds exactly like Blur's Coffee and TV. I can't know for sure if that was intentional, but it's neat nonetheless.
I must say though, I really like Tommy Walter's voice. It's not particularly powerful, but it's incredibly smooth and at times, comes off pretty androgynous, which is pretty relaxing, even during the more aggressive songs. As you can imagine, it's very effective on the more upbeat, light-hearted tracks. With that said, I don't think there's a single bad song on this record. Yes, there are a few standout tracks, but there's a consistent flow of decent, sometimes even great tracks on this record. It's nothing groundbreaking for the genre at the time, but it's an overall pleasing album and it's a wonder how this didn't get as much traction as it should have.
B+
Favorite Tracks: Mercy Kiss, L.V.B.D., Blood, Seed, Sunny Day
Typically, alternative rock seems to have simple song structures in mind based around easy chord progressions. For the most part, this holds true for this album as well, but is done in such a way that most of the tracks on here actually feel fresh. Songs like Mercy Kiss (which is my absolute favorite on this record, thanks in part to an incredibly catchy hook and satisfying riff) and Seed (which features a riff that feels straight out of a cliché heavy metal album, albeit a good one) feature some very aggressive instrumentation, worthy of some headbanging. On the other hand, there's also a balance between more uplifting tracks like Suburban Muse and the appropriately titled Sunny Day.
As with a lot of these alt-rock records of the 21st century, there's some synth use scattered throughout, but it's subtle enough to not detract from the raw instrumentation, and at times, actually works in favor of giving some tracks that little extra flair in tone. Blood actually makes great use of it for it's intro, creating a very dark and foreboding atmosphere that sets up some dark themes about the human condition presented in the song. When I think about it, all of these songs seem to speak to some sort human characteristic, whether it's love, one's mental state, and other similar topics. I can see where the album's title came from... Oh, and as a quick, fun side note, the first few seconds of L.V.B.D. almost sounds exactly like Blur's Coffee and TV. I can't know for sure if that was intentional, but it's neat nonetheless.
I must say though, I really like Tommy Walter's voice. It's not particularly powerful, but it's incredibly smooth and at times, comes off pretty androgynous, which is pretty relaxing, even during the more aggressive songs. As you can imagine, it's very effective on the more upbeat, light-hearted tracks. With that said, I don't think there's a single bad song on this record. Yes, there are a few standout tracks, but there's a consistent flow of decent, sometimes even great tracks on this record. It's nothing groundbreaking for the genre at the time, but it's an overall pleasing album and it's a wonder how this didn't get as much traction as it should have.
B+
Favorite Tracks: Mercy Kiss, L.V.B.D., Blood, Seed, Sunny Day
Least Favorite Track: Fluorescein
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