Helio Sequence
Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Sub Pop, 2008
By Allana Mayer
As regards the Helio Sequence: I am an avid Love & Distance fan. I’m not even sure how it found its way into my collection, but my love affair with the harmonica work (and the unabashed sympathy of “Let It Fall Apart”) got so bad I was about to write a Hidden Gem for it. Then I heard there was a new Helio Sequence release on its way — ahh, saved from trying to articulate my guilty pleasures. Could anything be better?
And at first glance, Keep Your Eyes Ahead is the same old muck. The same blippy little trademark sample sounds, even. Perfect — just take the pre-written adjectives for the old album and stick them onto the new. But, no… Something ain’t right here.
The boys, despite the short pithy tracks and the usual perky rhythms, seem old, tired, as if they really wish Travis would release another album. The sound is now world-weary, like they can’t even keep up their usual shtick for more than a few minutes at a time. It’s a more mature voice, without all the whines and snivels. Less naive. Too bad.
Then again, I can’t complain, since the reason for the new sound as well as the four years between albums was that frontman Brandon Summers damaged his vocal chords and had to relearn how to sing. So really I should just shut up and be happy that Helio Sequence isn’t going to become one of those “hey whatever happened to” bands. But I think I’ll just stick with my Love & Distance revisits, thanks…
Ah, what the hell, “Captive Mind” ain’t so bad. “Lately” is an absolute heartbreaker if you’re into that sort of thing, an update of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” for people who don’t listen to soft-rock stations. And slow cuts “Broken Afternoon” and “Shed Your Love” are practically tributes to early I Am Kloot and their sparkle-eyed acoustic ballads.
Okay, I’ll admit it: there was one intro (“Back to This”) that made my little ears perk up, and the query of “Sandro Perri?” escaped my lips before Summers started singing. Therefore, I can’t be so mean.
Still, some tracks (like the title one) are practically The Killers with fewer rock pretensions, and that’s not okay. Chalk me up as on the fence, until I find something that either endears or disgusts. Or maybe I’ll just have to be in the same self-pitying mood that made Love & Distance such a great fit. There is a time and place for everything, after all.
