Brett Anderson's new album, Slow Attack, is a dud. From its first song, ""Hymn,"" to its last, ""Leave Me Sleeping,"" the entire album is disappointing. It is a mixture of sinister tunes and off-balanced singing. The only parts of the album that are pleasing are the beginning—because you haven't heard it yet—and the end—because it's over.
Slow Attack's lyrics are undesirable. They're confusing with no sense of purpose. In ""The Hunted,"" Anderson repeats, ""She is the hunter, you are the hunted,"" over and over again. Sure, there are verses in the song, but you can't understand a word he is saying. ""Frozen Roads"" goes on and on about how ""the hills are like sorrow... and the sun will rise again, and your moon will fall."" The verses don't really have a purpose because the lyrics are indecipherable.
The actual instrumentation in Anderson's songs is worth hearing. Unfortunately, he ruins the songs when he starts singing. In the song ""Hymn,"" Anderson tries hard to sing in a high-pitched voice, but he doesn't succeed. He sings like James Blunt, except that he is a hundred times worse at it. In other songs, he goes for a deeper, more folkish sound, and it sounds awful. It is as if he can't make up his mind whether he wants to sound like a folk singer or not. He sings along with the background music instead of disregarding it completely, which is the only thing that doesn't make this album a complete catastrophe.
However, it doesn't help that he is off-pitch most of the time. His voice ranges from flat to sharp without ever hitting a note in tune. A voice like that gives me a headache and isn't worth listening to. His ranges are unbearable and the very existence of his vocals ruins the music. ""Hymn,"" ""Julian's Eyes"" and ""Leave Me Sleeping"" all start with creepy sounds and background music, and Anderson doesn't do anything to make them better.
If you like folkish indie with off-key vocals, then go ahead and check out Slow Attack. But good luck finding it, because it's not on iTunes. Maybe they didn't think it was a good idea to promote this new album.
