Happy Dissonance
Spooky Tuesday returns with their sophomore effort after their debut It'll Never Fly, Orville, which garnered much praise and positive feedback. This quartet, which began as and still serves the worship band at their church on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, has released Happy Dissonance, an album which may be classified as acoustic alterno-folk-pop. "Happy Dissonance" refers to what the band describes as a "more direct statement of our Christian views," which the listener can glean from the album's twelve songs. Musically, there are soft ballads mixed in with some of the more up-beat songs, creating an almost "moody" atmosphere. From the alternating soft strumming of an acoustic guitar and dreamy electric guitar tones in "Free" to the Spanish music-influenced "Agua," each song is distinct in its presentation and sound. Jars of Clay fans will appreciate the marriage of acoustic and rock genres in many of these songs. Lyrically, the topics covered in the songs are diverse and wide-ranging. From "Personal Institution" to "Selfish Love," these songs will definitely strike a chord with many who are looking for a band who produces music which is empathetic first and foremost, and not necessarily preachy. Here is an excerpt from "Sleep:" Cry little child
Moreover, rather than simply wallow in gloom, self-pity or hopelessness, the music of Spooky Tuesday offers answers through the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ. This is quite evident in songs such as "Salvation:" Child, I have forgiven you with the thorn in my hand
There is one area in which this writer feels is a weakness in Spooky Tuesday's music - vocals. Although Andrew Newman's vocals are discernable, concise and melodic, as in the song "Suicide," they seem to at times lack the emotional passion and the stronger, more pronounced delivery needed to add the emotional charge which some of these songs demand: particularly in tracks like "Hansel & Gretel," which deals with the topic of incest. Jessica "Scooter" Treskon's vocals appear to be more appropriate in these songs, as her vocals often fuse with the music much more coherently than with the male vocals. Songs like "Styrofoam" and "Trust," in which she showcases her strong, assertive vocals, illustrate this point. Produced by Matt Wignall, Happy Dissonance will appeal to listeners who are looking for music which is both accessible and serious. Happy Dissonance delivers on both. By: Jeremy Choi
I really enjoyed this Kauai, HI band's debut last year, an almost entirely acoustic/folk rock effort with a couple full-on grunge tunes strangely thrown in. Sure, the main singer sounded like a cross between Eddie Vedder and the singer from Plankeye, and one of the songs was almost a straight rip-off of Nirvana; but I happen to like those sounds, so it was good for me. When I heard from a friend who saw them live recently that they had a new vocalist, I cringed. What would the new singer sound like? Well, we'll get to that. The most noticeable difference, though, on Happy Dissonance is the overall sound. There are more electric guitars, more bass, more . . . sound. It's still relaxing, and the acoustic guitars are still prominent, but they've moved on from the stripped-down production of It'll Never Fly, Orville! to a fuller, this-is-an-alternative-rock- album mix. If you heard the two CDs at separate times, and you didn't know it was the same band, you probably wouldn't guess it. Knowing it, though, you hear the similarities. This album is much more original than the first. The first track, "Personal Institution," and several others reminded me of Poor Old Lu's simultaneous acoustic/electric strumming style, but that's a good thing. "Agua" and "Selfish Love" make me think the band members may have been on a mission trip to Mexico at some time (a common thing for Christian youth in Hawaii), with the quirky, faintly Latino rhythms and speedy singing. The background vocals are again handled by the lone female, Jess (known as Scooter on the first album), who has a very pretty voice. It calls to mind the woman in Acoustic Shack at times, but is lower in tone. This time she gets two mostly mellow songs to call her own, "Stryofoam" and "Trust." The first is a very relaxed tune with dreamy guitar in which she softly sings a poetic lyric about the journey to salvation (her own?):
so left behind dig beneath the hurt what will I find a blackened little soul held up to shine leave it all . . . transformation give it up, follow the truth, walk with me . . . salvation I know the way to lead you to safety Based on how good her two songs sound, I think she should be the band's main vocalist. Overall, this is an alternative album on the lighter side of things. The song lyrics are sometimes clearly about Christ, sometimes not so, but always seem to be based on actual experiences and are interesting to think through. Give Happy Dissonance a spin. You just might like it. By: Josh Spencer
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