1/12/2023 0 Comments Algiers lyricsx![]() ![]() There are times when he seems to be addressing personal demons. On single “Dispossession,” he sits atop a mountain, looking down on a flaming America and promising that “freedom is coming soon.” For whom? When? What does it look like? Fisher speaks like a prophet, but his visions remain frustratingly opaque. There’s no texture to his writing, no scene-setting-just intensity. “We all dancing to the fire,” he warns on “Hour of the Furnaces.” “Streets are raining fire/We’ll be gone now any day,” he prophesies on “Wait for the Sound.” These moments are supposed to feel urgent, but he could be talking about climate change or Burning Man. Fisher remains addicted to vague allegory and generic revelation his writing conjures fire and brimstone but lacks the heat of the flame, the stink of the sulfur. The problem with the record is that this expressive turn is half-hearted. Algiers songs have always been busy, but for once they sound loose, open-ended. The result is songs that feel less leaden and overthought, like album highlight “Chaka,” which sways from a soulful disco bop to a flurry of atonal noise without the slightest bit of friction. ![]() It also has only two producers, Ben Greenberg and Randall Dunn, who bring an arsenal of synths and a knack for layering sound. Whereas their debut was built from years of file-sharing among band members and The Underside of Power was recorded between touring and sessions across the UK and the US, There Is No Year was made in two weeks in one place. ![]() The horrors Algiers conjure-colonization, oppression, dispossession-remain diffuse, but as a unit they sound more in sync. Unlike their past records, which were awash in musical allusions and references to global struggles, There Is No Year is narrower and more internal, a shift that results in leaner, more intuitive songs. Built around extracts from an epic poem written by frontman James Franklin Fisher, the record is saturated with dread that smolders under his scorched-earth polemics. Pretext.For their third album, gospel-punk outfit Algiers, who describe Butler as a friend, have adopted the title and the mood of the book. Algiers self-titled debut album is one of the freshest albums of 2015. A record with soul, passion and ferocity. For example, the filtered background vocals that appear on many tracks that go "WHOOAAAOOOWAAAA". The only flaw I could find in this record that the band sometimes rely on the same trick/sound just a bit too much. The songwriting on this album ranges from decent to excitingly twisted. From the calm singing on the haunting track "Blood" to Screaming Jay Hawkings-esque vocals on the more up-tempo tracks on the record. The singer, Franklin James Fisher, is the defining factor that ultimately sells this project. The production ranges from classic rock tunes on songs like "Black Eunuch" and "When You Fall" to even menacing Afrika Bambaataa production style beats on the track "Irony. Algiers is rock trio (or politically conscious afropunk for the genre labelers) that comes in blazing with their debut. ![]() Algiers is rock trio (or politically conscious What happens when you mix soul, gospel and punk rock together? You will get this album. What happens when you mix soul, gospel and punk rock together? You will get this album. ![]()
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