While Chris Vrenna has said the concept of 2 a.m. Wakeup Call was birthed from his wife's battle with insomnia, I think it comes from falling asleep under a broken, malfunctioning clock, as there seems to be a massive one lurking just behind and underneath and, sometimes, intertwined with each and every song on the album.
Ruby
The album starts brilliantly with Will Oldham's quavering, almost childlike voice reflecting on the subjects of dreams and sickness and how "the color of his dreams, if he had dreams, would be you, ruby" over a simple guitar that explodes at the chorus, only to retreat momentarily before once again exploding, this time accompanied by Oldham screaming at the top of his lungs.
This first track, "Ruby", sets the tone perfectly for the journey into dreams and nightmares the listener is about to embark upon.
Cauterized
All right. From the first time I heard this track, I wanted it to be the theme to a new, darker animated Batman series. The series from the mid to late 90's is timeless and works perfectly with its full orchestral score, but "Cauterized" would be perfect for a less stylized, more realistic Batman cartoon.
Hm.
All right, I just "said" the words "a more realistic Batman cartoon".
Okay, forget everything I've said about this track thus far and just picture Batman kicking some dudes asses when it plays. There. Leave me alone.
Worse Than Yesterday
Depression = sleep
This seems to be about that. Maybe it was raining when the sleeper fell asleep. Everything feels slowed, gelled. Etc.
Truth Is
Easily the biggest name associated with tweaker, Robert Smith, was made for this track...or, much more likely, this track was made for him. His overly dramatic delivery fits so well with the hyperbole and pathological lies that make up the lyrics. And that bass? Feel it in your chest...damn! So slinky and durty...just right for the tone of this track. And the nonchalance and glee with which Smith confesses at the end of the song? Brilliant.
Remorseless
"Remorseless" sounds like the EKG for some dark, slumbering disco robot monster...or perhaps an alarm alerting us that said dark, slumbering disco robot monster has broken loose from its restraints and has started dancemurdering again. Either way, they had me at dark, slumbering disco robot monster.
Pure Genius
I'd like to base a dramatic television show about a private detective on "Pure Genius". It would be on Fox and only last one season...but it would have a small yet loyal following. The song would also be perfect for a dark and cerebral remake of Ocean's Eleven, maybe directed by Chris Nolan.
It's Still Happening
While Hamilton Leithauser's voice works great with "It's Still Happening" and there's a lot of interesting stuff going on sonically, the track tends to get a bit repetitive. Maybe some more lyrics or another bridge or something would have brought it all the way home, but, what can you do?
2 a.m.
"2 a.m." has some nice ambiance and textures hiding behind, and occasionally getting swallowed up by, the lovely, unassuming acoustic guitar. Perhaps this track is meant for Vrenna's wife, who inadvertently originated the concept for this album. A really excellent aural representation of a dreamscape...and there's that broken clock again.
Movement Of Fear
Ugh. If every masterpiece needs a wet fart, then I suppose that this is it. This sounds less like a "Movement Of Fear" and more like a "Movement of A Gritty, Sad, Scummy, Sticky Titty Bar On The Outskirts of Las Vegas".
It's just so over the top...
"this-is-a-move-ment-of-fear!!!"
Ugh again.
Too much cheese for this to move anywhere.
Sleepwalking Away
After the bowel movement of fear, we have another weak link in the otherwise solid tweaker album, "Sleepwalking Away". Nick Young howling the words "Sleepwalking away! Sleepwalking awaaaaaay!!!" is neither what I expected nor what I wanted from this song. It's especially jarring after (most) everything else on this has been right on the nose. It's incongruous to the point of curiosity. In a nutshell, I think this album, as a whole would have been better without this.
The House I Grew Up In
Things start to get better with the penultimate track, "The House I Grew Up In".
Crude Sunlight
As "Ruby" is the perfect opener, "Crude Sunlight" is the perfect closer. Jennifer Charles' vocals flawlessly capture that languid, syrupy quality of existence on the infinitesimal, vast continent between asleep and awake while the music, led tenuously forward by a searching, watery piano, sounds just like something one might hear at the tail end of a dream. At times, she chooses veracity over clarity and almost slurs her words, as if you're hearing someone talk in their sleep, and, although you can't always make out exactly what she's saying, the sense of struggling to remember something from a dream, maybe important, maybe not, is always crystal clear.
And then, after a final swelling of sadness: you're awake. Just like that.
The dream is over.
The nightmare is over.
The night is over.
The third and final* tweaker album, call the time eternity, is coming out in exactly one week. I've seen nothing but favorable reviews and, while my hopes are high, Vrenna is really going to have to outdo himself to even come close to knocking 2 a.m. Wakeup Call from its pedestal.
But I'm excited to hear him try.
* Just Tweeted by @tweakermusic: "to clarify 'call the time eternity' may or may not be the last tweaker album. sometimes the end is only the beginning. " A ray of hope..?
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