Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Floater: Alter Pantheon Records, 2002 Track Listing (58m00s) · Zero Hour · Come See Everything · Crusatyr · Alone · Tracks Across the Snow · Rocking Horse · Safety · Luddite · Hollywood · Long Gone · Diamond · 4 Down (A Toast) · (Outro)° Score: 9/10 I never, ever give Floater a perfect score for a perfect album, though I really, really should. I take that back; no, wait ... well, okay. A friend of mine more skilled, knowledgeable, and intuitive about music than I, rightly observes that Floater has, as a songwriting principle, something against major chords. It's not a truism, but Floater is well known for minor keys and compact largesse. Every time you expect them to open up with any number of standby power chords, they hit you with its minor equivalent. That theory is neither mine nor well-expressed here, but it is fair to say that Floater evolves within a certain comfort range. The thing is that you will always know that you're hearing a Floater song when you hear it because of its distinct, polished sound. I find Floater the nearest American thing to perfection, though. (For comparison, nobody's claiming them to be the next Radiohead, but people compare them to so many bands it's ridiculous.)° To me I wonder why you must allow major chords to dominate the sound. It has to do with commercial success, I suppose, and in that sense I guess we can detract that point from this album for the fact that the general listening public does, in fact, prefer different tones. All of the ideas, sonically, are reasonably familiar to any listener of contemporary music. But they're buried under and masked behind the band's tonal preferences. I personally find the difference reassuring. There's something about the slightly morbid overtones of Floater's compositions. Part of it is the production standard. It puts many of today's bands to shame. Generally speaking, recognized giants such as Pearl Jam or Radiohead carry higher standards, as well as lesser-known pioneers like Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream) or Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).° The production quality of Floater's Alter transcends the clear majority of what you see pushed as popular or good by radio stations and MTV. Floater is chasing after a sound; their first album, produced by Drew Canulette (Soundgarden, Neil Young) received a preliminary Grammy nomination°, and they've been on a mission to progress with each album. This is a stronger album than Burning Sosobra, at first listen, and sets a more definitive direction for the band than its predecessor, which, while a fine album, seems out of place following the magnificent (possibly perfect, but I know I'm overlooking something) Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone. The sound is thick, heavily compressed, but not devoted to the heavy metal idea. Floater is often termed a power-rock trio, and the description suffices well enough. Among the current t-shirts is one which reads, 10 years, 7 albums, 3 artists. It's apt. The sound has served them well. It's flexible and allows crunch, mud, fluidity, and all manner of texture. And above all, it's tangible and flavored. Where many bands give you something that sounds okay, Floater seem to understand that music can have a deep emotional effect, and something on the edge of sentimentalism absolutely drips from the production. There are moments of fear, of alienation, of nostalgia, confusion, anger, desperation, and an overriding, abstract compassion that raises this from mere hard rock to high art. The album doesn't necessarily tell a story, but it does maintain an ineffable theme from start to finish. Lyrically, the album is vivid, even grandiose. Floater fans are used to this. Floater fans expect this. Floater deals in paradigm-related issues. In the past, family, drugs, law, religion, and death have formed the lyrical meat of Floater. Alter seems to be more broadly-based. Zero Hour evokes a chilling, contemporary image: And yet, it is in a different track, dealing with different subject matter that a very contemporary phrase rises: Part of Floater's lyrical appeal has always invested itself in youth. At the earliest Floater shows I recall (Grand Theatre, Salem, Oregon, 1996--I was in Eugene when they were allegedly playing garage shows down there, but cannot recall having seen them at that time) it was quite usual for the teenagers in the pit to challenge the band for volume, singing, Hey, Mom and Dad, you have done so well ("Manic", Sink), or The child can't do anything right; why can't he be like us? ("Clean Plastic Baby", Glyph) offers a less-than-subtle hint toward the relevant empathy and sympathy Floater is accustomed to evoking. Alter is a progression, calling out the same frustrations and angst in a more mature expression; fifteen year-olds who crashed each other around the pit when I first saw Floater are of drinking age now, and wear a whole new suit of worries. The angst and fear are still there, only aimed toward broader mysteries. Listening to a Floater album is both entertainment and serious thought. While the albums themselves do not speak in narratives, common enough themes tie each album to itself that they do seem to be whole and separate entities. If, for instance, anyone can tell me exactly what is the sum of Toad the Wet Sprocket's Fear (I have two possible theories), they're welcome to do so. The same with Floater's Alter. It is, at once, more cohesive than Burning Sosobra, which does stick out as having either less thematic consistency or else attunes itself to a theme less apparent than other albums. Disenfranchisement, disenchantment, confusion, anger, and a search for peace seem to be the dominant themes as we move through the Floater catalog. Floater appeals mostly to people who are sick and tired of radio music--e.g. top 40, "classic" rock. Well, that and frustrated youth, as any all-ages show will demonstrate.° The music is not intended to be relegated to the background (e.g the sound system at your local GAP store), and is well-mixed for loud playing. While compression isn't notoriously heavy, a la Peter Gabriel, the sound does tend to open up considerably before getting tremendously loud--a production trick that all bands should remember. The music depends largely on a certain sympathetic relationship 'twixt performer and audience, characterized in the live show by pointed, common, and inventive social tantrums (e.g. American Theatric from Angels in the Flesh frequently begins live with a faux-preacher's rant about God). It is, in part, a musical Doonesbury, though the humor is less the point. There's much to think about, and Floater evoke from their audience very specific states of mind both live and via the CD's. You don't necessarily put on a Floater album to hear one song. Usually, you put it on to sit back and listen to the whole album. To wit, I was skipping around between the Alter tracks last night and eventually slipped into whatever I was doing and letting the music play. I had been trying to listen (repeatedly) to the Concrete Blonde-esque Hollywood, and would eventually come back to what I was working on some forty songs later. (My mp3 library has all of the albums, though none of the single-edits ... 7 albums, 99 songs, 7h 21m+ of Floater.) But the primary experience of Floater is best encountered listening to any of the studio albums in their entirety, or else seeing them live. In fact, the two factors are necessary to understand Floater. Perhaps even more important, though, in terms of experience, is that you've never heard a band quite like this. Despite the number of comparisons they draw, Floater is a thoroughly unique presence in contemporary music. Given to theatric bombast (there is an overriding sense of the glorious which possesses a crowd when Floater is hitting their marks) and overarching abstraction, Floater is almost a practice in musical superstition: an attempt at alchemy or, daresay, magick. The average Britney Spears or Destiny's Child fan won't necessarily appreciate a Floater album, which defies the expectations of such a musical genre. The drums aren't synthesized, and there's too much noise in between the beats. Bottom line, it's really quite hard to dance to Floater, but that doesn't stop the teenagers, and Muse love them for that. I generally disclaim any "favorite" list because, for instance, to put Burning Sosobra at the bottom of the list implies that there is something wrong with it. Not the case at all. It was a fine album and I have no complaints musically, but it merely didn't raise me to the same heights as an Angels in the Flesh or Glyph. Alter is establishing a subtly new paradigm, a broader view of Floater's traditional philosophical stomping grounds. Thus, rather than what is the best song, I can only list the standout tracks. Unlike, to grab an example randomly, Tesla, the standout tracks are merely that. (Anyone read GFTPM? They used to do this with their record reviews.) So that when you hear the other tracks, you wonder why they were recorded in the first place. Not so in this case. Merely, it's not a uniform height that Floater achieves; it seems as if they are aware in their songwriting of the need to make their songs relate so that you can "set 'em up" with the first wave and "knock 'em down" with the heavy artillery. With that in mind, the standout tracks on Alter are Alone, Tracks Across the Snow, Safety, and Hollywood. See Floater live, and watch them--at their finest--trying to manipulate the mood in the crowd. I remember the first time I saw and heard Rob play this bit: he floored the room in Seattle with it, and left even the most jaded of us starry-eyed for a while. The live presentation of Alter is, at present, more subtly marked, but just as aggressive, such as And everyone in the room knew exactly what he meant. Floater actually does have the power to alter consciousness. And they're aware of it. The humble retreat into abstraction is over, for now. In addition to the 10/7/3 t-shirt is also one which simply reads, "The Alter Nation". People get ready. Floater is impatient again, and the new album, called Alter, is the new call to sanity. The Alter Nation t-shirt makes me wonder if they're taking it across the country again° (Danny Boy, from Glyph was the single the last time I recall them hitting the nationwide circuit). In the meantime, if people think something weird is happening on the west coast, they're right. After all, as the Floater Minister fanpage points out in a 12/1998 news item, System of a Down took notes from them. Of course, the stories circulating as early as 1996 were that Floater told EMI/Capitol Group to take a flying leap after negotiations stalled over the handling of Glyph. Floater is that good. Pop bands can only imitate, and that poorly. There are some in my own circle who don't understand why I don't listen to the current wave of guitar-heavy "vision" bands, such as System of a Down and others. Floater is the reason. The album can be found through various online resources, though I feel it would be inappropriate to include sales links here. It's called Alter, and it's by Floater. thanx much, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Notes ° (Outro): This appears in the CDDB as identified by iTunes, and consists of 5 seconds of what I believe to be silence. It appears to be a deliberate spacer track to make the album equal 58:00 exactly. I do not know if that number is somehow significant. I'm sure I'll eventually hear a theory about it at a show, so I'll keep y'all posted on that. ° Compared to bands: The band rejects talk of Iron Maiden, but until I heard Rob say that one time, I never even thought of it--there is a couple of times where Dave could have learned a certain tonal trick from Maiden's Somewhere in Time. But in the meantime, I've heard mention of many distinguished bands; definitive moments of Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction, and the Police (cf. Medicine Woman from the Angels in the Flesh album--Rob tips his hand and breaks into Canary in a Coal Mine for the live version. One of my favorites is, "Did I just hear a Duran Duran bit?" And we even got treated to a chorus or two of the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever during the 6/15 Portland show. Bottom line, they're an utterly unique band. And we should not forget the cover of The Doors' Waiting for the Sun on Burning Sosobra. I'm actually laughing delightedly because the track Hollywood, from the current album, brings to mind firm visions of Concrete Blonde, of all bands. ° Blur/Gorillaz: An associate has pointed out to me that, while Albarn is the impetus of both bands, it is, in fact, Graham in Blur who lends toward the higher sound, and that the Gorillaz, consisting of Albarn, Dan the Automator Nakamura, Miho Hattori, and the guy from Deltron 3030, bear an inherent obligation to sound quality because of the nature of their presentation. Nonetheless, compare Blur's Beetlebum, Music Is My Radar, or This is a Low to any number of guitar-pop bands on MTV. ° Preliminary Grammy nomination: Sink did not receive enough votes to be officially nominated for a Grammy award. ° All-ages shows: We currently have a war going on among Seattlite politicos regarding what is called the "Teen Dance Ordinance", a set of draconian rules designed to make all-ages club shows impossible. After the (necessary) closure of Rockcandy, it became obvious that the kids had no place to go. For a few years, now, our youth situation has deteriorated because the local politicians have tried to herd them back into school- and church-organized activities by prohibiting them from ever having fun outside (we have a persistent heroin problem up here, as well as regular difficulties with methamphetamine). Floater was vocal among rock bands when the idea spread to Oregon (where I can drink alcohol at a show attended by youth); they actively preached against the measure in Oregon, and began scheduling all-ages shows in age-restricted clubs, inviting the youth into the Fenix and Breakroom clubs for early-evening (e.g. 5:00 pm) shows, which turn out to be really fun in the summer; last year, Rob blew an amp mid-set because of the heat, and delighted the kids with bland humor while everyone scrambled to get his sound up and running again. Nonetheless, the sum of this necessity is found in one of last year's Breakroom shows when Dave (guitar) broke out his e-bow for Milk of Heaven (from Burning Sosobra) and you could just see all of the 15 year-old would-be punk guitarists just light up with amazement, delight, and ambition. ("F--k, man, I gotta learn how to use one of those!") What more can I ask? ° Across the country again: Floater generally tours between Chico, CA, and Seattle, WA, with occasional forays to Boise, Spokane, and so forth; I can't recall them going cross-country since about 1996 or so, in support of the Danny Boy single.
That was beautiful. Well done. I couldn't agree more...except...well, I think 'Burning Sosobra' is one of, if not THE best Floater album to date. It's either that or 'Alter.' Great review, though. I was so happy to come across this.
An excerpt from my own consciousness I generally consider myself to be one with words, and can articulate my thoughts well. That statement is just a preface to my experience with this review: At one time or another, I myself have thought up the very same layered, complex, accurate, and insightful thoughts about Floater and their music. I was even occasionally confused as to whether I was reading something I had written myself. Though I can't say I did write it, I am elated to know that my feelings exist as a common thread between the fans. Whether or not you understood what the poster was saying, it is all too true. tyler
