Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - PersonA


Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
PersonA
2016
Spotify

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have always been known to be upbeat festival darlings asking people to join in on their frivolity. The music like a lot of "jam" bands was made for people to get involved, not just passively listen. However Jade Castrinos has left the band and this record PersonA is their first since, and although much of the same spirit is there this album also features a more somber approach to music, letting the light and the dark in. The sound has changed a great deal as well. Where as a song like "Home" was full of life as well as a 60s style crackle this record is clean no frills. You get the sense that instead of messing around the band had some ideas that they needed to get out to push into the world. PersonA seems like it was made because they absolutely had to, anything else would just be false. You may notice a jazz twinge to this record as well which given that the record was recorded at Alex Ebert's studio in New Orleans really should be no surprise. A song like "Wake Up the Sun" at the ends descends into more of a free for all improve session rather than a structured song to varying success. "Love Like Yours" is the one song that really retains the original spirit of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros but those moments are fleeting at best on this record.

The writing on this record is really well done. Each lyric seems quite poignant and impassioned, but throughout the album it is hard to shake the feeling that this music is just boring. It is perfectly fine, but there is a lack of life in the songs. On "Perfect Time" Ebert almost croons which just sound so alien on an Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros record. The two tracks before the final song in particular crawl at such a slow pace that it becomes difficult to even pay attention any more. It's like the band is trying to go in a different direction but still keep what was great about them in the past, but that push and pull results in a lack of direction or even confidence. When you listen to Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros you never expect just a piano and vocals, but it happens quite a bit on PersonA and it's not great. "Lullaby" though clearly an extremely personal song is almost laughably bad. The slide into the end of the record is just depressing and "The Ballad of Yaya" does nothing to pull you out of the fog. It is understandable that a band rebuilding itself is bound to have some bumps in the road but even so this record just does not measure up. Probably best to sweep this under the rug and just listen to Up From Below instead.

5.1 out of 10

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