Eternal Youth

Buffy, this Spike's for you:
Okay all you Buffyheads, if you liked anything you ever heard by Steve Merritt and friends, you'll find this witty, sometimes poignant, unexpectedly tuneful song collection a CD you'll play more and more as time goes by. I know I have. It's not all about vampires, but many songs are, and most of the rest touch upon time passing, death looming, and, of course, love. Like a lot of Lou Reed, sometimes these songs are as musically sweet as ABBA, and yet they're edgy, sometimes dark, and mordant. "Losing Your Affection" still has the power to make me smile after two years of regular play. But behind the exuberant word play, the underlying bittersweet sentiment remains true for anyone who has ever been deeply in love and had it returned. "Thousand Lovers in a Day" just seemed perverse on first hearing. On rehearing, it became a mournful and defiant response to the recognition that youth is rushing by way faster than we want. One or two tracks remain a bit weak, but for me (an admitted Merrittmaniac and Buffybrain) this CD remains one that sometimes I just have to play right-this-minute.

a Sci-Fi Score -- takes some getting use to...:
When I first got this record I was very dissappointed -- not at all what I expected. I shelved it for over 2 years. For some reason I pulled it out again, presumabally because I had gotten in to Holiday era Magnetic Fields and was aching for more. Anyway, I started to like some of the songs. "Losing Your Affection" did not affect me at first. I thought is sounded simple, little did I realize that is the charm... Soon other songs tunes started to seep into my brain. After a month or two I finally admitted I did, in fact, enjoy the songs, but maybe not the whole thing. Eventually it became very clear that I listened to the thing twice a day. So, well, I guess it could be an amazing gem of an album. Another month passed, it became the most played in my itunes (and I had 5 stars attached to all the actual songs, but not the interludes). So I checked 5 stars for those interludes that I haden't really noticed and came to realize that Eternal Youth is just as important of a Stephin Merrit album as the next (or better, "Smash the Beauty Machine" is a perfect song). However, if you are expecting Magnetic Fields, take note, this one is titled "Future Bible Heroes" hense the departure in aesthetic.

The only Merritt album I have ever returned:
The higher than average rating on the All Music Guide should have given me a clue; after all, the rock critic mafia only bestows high marks on uncompromising (read unmelodic) work, eschewing the hits that we mere mortals seem to enjoy. Dancing about architecture, anyone? I cannot recall a single memorable tune on this album which, aside from that Gothic Archies EP/coaster, is the only Merritt album I have ever returned. One or two listens is all it takes to discern magic from tedium. I left Eban & Charley at the listening post, won't even touch Pieces of April and am now officially worried about 'I'. Has the well run dry?

More Love Songs?:
Future Bible Heroes is another project from the prolific Stephin Merritt. This band is also comprised of Man Ray DJ, Chris Ewen, and singer Claudia Gonson. It sounds more like Merritt's early work with Magnetic Fields than some of his recent solo work and collaboration. In fact this album is more like the atmospheric work of Eyeless in Gaza and Cocteau Twins. How we keep all these bands and side projects in order is a mystery. But for this album, I guess fans of Erasure can pick up here where they left off. It's a pop album for those who thought Dead or Alive were not over the top disco. "Losing Your Affection" is a song that flirts with electropop but doesn't go all the way. It is music that out of sync with anything going on right now, and seems trapped in some apolitical new wave bubble. I look at some of the pictures of babies and Hawaiian kitsch and just imagine that this album takes place in neverland. The song "Doris Day The Earth Stood Still" lays there like some primodial ooze, with its psychedelic wanderings. This is music that doesn't want to grow up. "I'm A Vampire" is probably the strongest track on the album. It sounds like like a bad vacation in Toyko: a take on "Don't Touch Me There" by The Tubes. This music is the sort that didn't have the guts to be punk and was too iffy to be new wave. I could imagine myself reading Jacqueline Susanne while listening to this. The record explores some weird soundscapes and abandons the idea of "youth" in the midst.

Merritt's Done Better...:
This being the first Future Bible Heroes CD I've purchased (my first purchase of Merritt's that wasn't by his beloved Magnetic Fields), I have to say I'm not all that impressed. "Losing Your Affection" just seemed to be a dull pop song that had the same noise throughout all of its four and a half minutes. "Doris Daytheearthstoodstill" and "I'm A Vampire" were probably the only two songs that really stuck with me. I'd actually give the album five stars if I were just looking at "I'm A Vampire", which is one of Merritt's best pop songs. But it's not one song that makes an album, and sadly, the album didn't have much gas left after that. "Find An Open Window" had good lyrics, but awful music. "Eternal Youth" ends with "The World Is A Disco Ball", which is an okay song, but it's just not enough. And as for Claudia Gonson being the vocalist on all the songs... I'm not complaining. She has a wonderful voice, but the music in this album is what ruins it. I do hope the next Future Bible Heroes album has Claudia Gonson on all the songs- just with better music.