I was the first to
admit it: SCQ’s enthusiastic review of this little website record had some
harsh words for Mr. Broderick. In the face of such a richly enveloping record,
how does one respond to blunt exposition of all of the record’s mysteries,
stubbornly tied to a personality seeking attention?
As it happens, in
the same way we overlook the record’s occasional misstep in favour of a glowing
majority. http://www.itstartshear.com is for the most part a riveting, emotional showcase of a
talented songwriter, arranger and producer, culminating to great effect on “A
Tribute To Our Letter Writing Days”, “Everything I Know” and “Blue”. Broderick sometimes
risks missing the mark (overreaching completely only once, on the uneven,
overlong “Bad Words”) but what would become of the album’s many highlights had
Broderick not gone fully after his muse? While frustratingly close to a
masterpiece, this earlier of two 2012 LPs deserves a trying devotion.
Is it wrong that as
soon as I enteredhttp://itstartshear.com – the website that is an album – and watched
Broderick’s video introduction, I nearly closed the window without hearing a
note? I mean, as compelling and relatable as Broderick’s reasoning may be for
offering free access to his highly anticipated record (and in the form of an
interactive website, no less), it’s disappointing to find oneself confronted on
the homepage by an architect so regrettably caught up in his own eccentricities. Now even to me that last sentence reads as pretty insensitive – I don’t typically
get personal with critiques on strangers – but it’s hard not to digest http://itstartshear.com (the website, anyway) as an intentionally
personal diary when Broderick has detailed the explicit origin for each song
before listeners have had a chance to absorb it on its own merits. As a
reaction to illegal downloading, I suppose the website’s aim speaks for itself
so c’mon – whatever happened to show, don’t tell.
Fans and newcomers
can decide for themselves what to make of the website’s occasional bout of
too-much-information but the music, purportedly at the centre of this project, proves far less divisive. In fact, http://itstartshear.com (the record) stands as one of the best
things I’ve heard all year. Whether being sweet-talked by the tender
orchestration surrounding “I Am Piano” or swallowed into “Asleep”’s
slow-burning vortex of piano, found-sound clips, and electronics, it’s
impossible to fault Broderick’s understanding of how to expand or conflict a
composition for the benefit of a potent atmosphere. Some of these ten tracks
communicate via weighty and intricate structures (“With the Notes In My Ears”),
others grab at poignancy through largely acoustic means (“Blue”), but never
does Broderick’s approach come off as heavy-handed for the sake of embellishing
average song-fare. The title track, even, which can best be described as a
welcome jingle to remember the website’s address key-for-key, draws the
listener in for glimpses of an uncompromising genius peddling Broderick’s oddity.
And I do mean
oddity, not audacity, since the vast majority of http://itstartshear.com
operates as a creatively executed but ultimately traditional modern-folk
record. In a business where artists market their idiosyncrasies, whether
authentic or not, I’d reckon that aforementioned video should pretty much damn
Broderick’s chances of coasting on image. Which is great, because beneath
http://itstartshear.com’s plain charcoal sleeve lies some of the most
gorgeously produced music anyone’s ears could be blessed with. The
internet’s got nothing on this.
