Enon - Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds

Download: Enon - "Mr. Ratatatatat"
Download: Enon - "Mirror on You"

Enon
Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds (Touch and Go, 2007)
Grade: B

It's been a busy Tuesday for releases. Enon's first new album in four years, Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds is out just in time for late fall/early winter listening parties.

After waiting four years for this record, I was kind of unsure where they were going to go with it. Each record is always kind of a surprise for fans, and this time around they did something I kind of expected: they made the big rock record.

On a first listen through, this struck me as the record that Metric's Live It Out should have been. Everything about Grass Geysers has been put under a microscope, examined and perfected. It's a high-energy that doesn't hide behind its enthusiasm by simply blasting through each song, but instead pays attention to every detail. Its perfectionism gets a little tiring by the end, but that's a pretty good criticism to earn.

Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds opens with one of the biggest bangs since the universe started. "Mirror On You" and "Colette" couple squealing guitars with jittery, up-too-late bass and vox to set a frantic, unhinged pace for the record.

And they keep it up the whole time. But that's also kind of the problem with Grass Geysers. There are no slow songs that allow you to catch your breath. There are no stand out tracks. Each song on it's own is incredibly strong, but they all pound this same heavy rock sound. So, while an album with no bad tracks is a good thing, an album on which all the songs have the same feel is not such a great thing. There's a lot of good songs on here for mixes, and the album is a good study album, but I found it pretty tough to sit down and blast through the whole thing without my mind wandering.

If you're looking for a record that has a little more variety, you should check out Enon's tour mates The Octopus Project's Hello, Avalanche. Not to mention, if you're running a little low on happy, this record is a great little pick-me-up. Out on Peek-a-Boo Records, you can pick up the record here.

Download: The Octopus Project - "I Saw The Bright Shinies"

The Octopus Project MySpace Page
Enon MySpace Page

(April Wright)