Josiah Wordsworth is a band on the move. Last year they released an EP by the name of Blue State, which received some well-deserved praise here at The Silent Ballet.Blue State is a record that is both minimalist and complex, as it only features piano and drums, but also interweaves the two in deeply intricate, jazzy, and chaotic patterns. They’ve since added some new members to the band, and their new (and first) LP, Wordsworth!, is therefore in many ways a very different album. But though the new guitar elements certainly change their overall sound in a somewhat dramatic way, the general spirit of the music remains the same. Josiah Wordsworth has indeed returned, and the band has brought another spasmodically jazzy collection of tunes along with it.
Most of the music found here is an exercise in carefully controlled chaos. Moments of pleasantly soft harmony give way to what could, perhaps, be called the piano version of breakcore. I am not speaking of quiet-loud dynamics in the traditional post-rock sense -- there are no crescendos to be found here. Instead, the music employs rapid shifts in and out of fast-paced rhythmic absurdities. These keep the listener excited and constantly on edge, but they are never grating to the ear, as music of this sort can easily become. Josiah Wordsworth should be commended for writing yet another album which is both exciting and harmonic, fast-paced, and pleasant. Overall, the music seems to be a bit more mature on this effort than the last, although I still don’t think you could exactly call any of these songs subtle.
It is in the context of this absence of subtlety that I must address the one issue which does continually plague the album: cheesiness. This is an issue that was also present in Blue State, but with the addition of guitars it becomes much more prominent and noticeable this time around. It’s a tough issue to tackle, because at a certain level cheesiness equates with awesomeness, but at another level, it makes the music entirely laughable. “Nada Gravitas” is an excellent example. The song flat-out rocks, and has been featured as a Silent Ballet Track of the Week for good reason. The music is very technical, but also highly enjoyable. Then, towards the end, the guitar kicks out a lead line whose tone absolutely screams, “Hey! Look at me! I’m playing the guitar now!” But, again, if the listener is perhaps moved to hysterics by this, he will also be impressed by how good this little solo sounds. This sort of awesome/cheese dichotomy reminds me intensely of Liquid Tension Experiment. Hopefully, anyone familiar with this exemplary prog-metal instrumental band (which contains 3/5 of the members of Dream Theater!) will understand exactly what I mean. For the rest: just know that both of these bands (though quite different in many respects) pull off the sometimes difficult task of being both somewhat laughable and deeply impressive at the same time.
I’ll admit, the first time I heard this new album I was a little bit disappointed.Blue State was one of my favorite CDs from last year because of the way in which it made the most of just one piano and just one drum kit. I was hoping to see Josiah Wordsworth continue along in this direction, and further develop that minimal/complex element that made their music so compelling. In the context of these hopes for the new LP, the addition of the guitars and bass initially turned me off from Wordsworth!. But after the initial shock wore off, I realized that this album is in much the same spirit as the previous EP. Though these new instruments do change the setting of the music rather dramatically, this album just represents a different way of getting at the same goal. Although I would still like to see that minimal/complex piano sound developed further in future albums, this new sound also suits me quite well.
If you liked or loved Blue State, then the odds are pretty good that you’ll like or love Wordsworth! as well. The album represents an increased maturity from the first EP, albeit in a different direction than I anticipated. Really, the only thing holding them back from true greatness is this omnipresent cheese-factor. If they can just cut that, then they’ll be winners for sure. Josiah Wordsworth, please understand: you don’t have to use your guitar and piano tones to tell us to listen to you. We’re excited enough to do that on our own.
On a side note: Label Execs, sign this band now!
-Tom Butcher