Early morning rain

These Were - The Earlies (2005)

The Earlies are a half-American and half-British band. They borrow freely and effectively from musical antecedents on both sides of the Atlantic while crafting this blissful and above-all reassuring debut album. These Were The Earlies is at times orchestral and electronic, psychedelic and poppy, remaining at all times absorbing.

"In The Beginning", (80/100), is a good place to start. This is just a short prologue, as it were. In its less than thirty seconds, though, the album's major motif, "Mother Mary and the morning wonder, take me home," is introduced, while the orchestra, in essence, warms up. A choir of chirping birds joins in, and to lend credibility to the ostentatious tone of the biblical title, 1 Thessalonians 4:18 is quoted.

And what words shall then comfort the tormented soul? The next song is titled, "One Of Us Is Dead", (86). The singer of this song reads those words on the t-shirt of a passerby, and then later in a newspaper, which understandably starts him ruminating. The reflective mood is carried very casually by a gentle synth and a subtle drum loop. The song is chill, not like a corpse, but as one so enraptured as to have possibly missed the occurrence of his own death. Of course, the death lottery is only a win to one who believes something good is coming after. The album goes quickly from beginning to end, sampling a sermon on Revelation 21:5 in a reverb-drunk bridge: "I am making everything new."

While "One Of Us" evokes the Beatles' "A Day In The Life" (1967), the next track, "Wayward Song", (88), is performed with a wink and a nod to Kansas. "Wayward son, you've lost your head again," the singer confides with encouragement: "you've got to carry on." The song describes the internal toil that guilt wreaks, especially when falling short of one's own standards. Like "Carry On Wayward Son" from Kansas' Leftoverture (1976), lyrics such as "take a load off your weary head" are offered as a source of invigoration to one in superego burnout. The Earlies song employs liberal use of strings, woodwinds, and a nice piano run.

The whimsical instrumental, "Slow Man's Dream", (83), is aptly titled for its dozy ambience. A sparse synth intro heralds flute and even jingle bell accompaniment. Halfway through, the song's pace and tone pick up a little as piano enters with cello. "25 Easy Pieces", (88), (http://www.mediafire.com/?kutkj1x91gg6qmg), sounds like a slow motion tribal chant, perhaps even processed backwards. The percussion flitters almost like insects about the mechanical "gears" and electronic guts of this song, while the bells brought in to wind this one down are absolutely luminous.

The album's magnum opus may well be "Morning Wonder", (97), (http://www.mediafire.com/?t85068d53m096dq). The first two minutes and twenty seconds develop a propulsive engine, ever ascending via narcotic guitar riff and hypnotic synthy swoops before the "Mother Mary" line makes its striking return. Not long on lyrics, the song is a call-and-answer of the soul, the "take me home" prayer served by the "It's alright, my baby" response. The music is vivid, each sound alive and absolutely enthralling, attaining another height at 3:30, reaching one more at 4:17.

"The Devil's Country", (92), is a counterpoint of "Morning Wonder". Equally vivid, the comforting calm of "Morning" is traded here for turbulent, yet intriguing danger. The other side of that coin is one ravaged by brash, heavy brass and sulphuric-squeaky saxophone. A queasy, discordant chorus feels like it's melting off the record's edge. Seeking shelter, the Earlies signal another British classic rock bastion with the first verse's "like the stones on parade, your marchin' time's just a shot away."

Perhaps there is even a third side to that coin. The winds recede to start "Song For #3", (80), fitting for what amounts to a lullaby. Invoking another call and answer, the soothing female replies in the second verse just might subdue a fevered listener into a fetal position. The bridge, with all the warmth and sound of a Charlie Brown special, lyrically intones the Fab Four, "When will they get back to where they once belonged?", while the chorus, "How long will we sing this song?", calls to mind U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1983).

Next, "Lows", (84), are, of course, the natural result of highs. This instrumental is as serene and composed as anything else on the album, though, perhaps suggesting the lows and highs of life are easier to handle with a mellow balance.

The tempo is raised slightly on "Bring It Back Again", (88), which forgoes the classic rock callouts, at least momentarily. This time Francis Scott Key gets the nod, with "Oh, can you see by the early light?" bestowing an anthemic weight upon the track. A nice pat on the Earlies' own back follows shortly, with "I am lost in a slow man's dream." There is some of the intrinsic momentum that "Morning Wonder" earlier exhibited, though muted here a little. Along with some bells and the rain, the singer of this song wants his heart back.

Finally, "Dead Birds", (86), allows "Mother Mary" her ultimate advent. Extrapolating the oft-repeated line's last "home" into an orchestral onslaught that feels like it should go on longer nearly plunges the album into chaotic unravelling. It gathers itself together, however, for one final verse and the album is afforded ending with the same line it opened with.

Surprisingly coherent for what essentially amounts to a collection of songs released on earlier singles and EPs, These Were provides plenty of neural stimulation, allowing one to ponder the great mysteries or simply veg on the sleek-cast tunes. With several references to eyes and sight, the Earlies conceive an album projecting its vision through a glass darkly and sincerely.

These Were (album): 86/100.