Happy Festivus! What better way to celebrate than with a notoriously secular musician?
09. George Hrab - Trebuchet
After a long four-year wait, George Hrab finally treated us in 2010 with the follow-up to 2006's Interrobang. 2006 was also the year in which I first heard about Mr. Hrab, when one offhand listen to the album Coelacanth grew into a profound admiration and enjoyment of the man and his music. At the time, he was a local treasure, a fellow resident of Bethlehem, who happened to produce some excellent music. Since then, he has become quite the figurehead in the skeptic community, thanks in large part to his podcast, with which he has garnered an impressively dedicated fanbase, larger than he ever might have had through his music alone. I really like his podcast, but he always will be foremost a musician in my understanding of him, which is why I was so excited for this album to be released.
After the pure prog and funk fun of Coelacanth, Interrobang was a step in the direction of slightly more straightforward rock, and Trebuchet continues this trend, albeit with the typically diverse Hrabian spectrum of styles. I emphasize this point, because I do not care for many contemporary rock artists (as may have been apparent already from the list so far). Even the world of indie rock has been leaving me cold lately--and maybe I simply am listening to the wrong people, but it takes a special kind of artist to make me want to listen to a rock song. George Hrab is such an artist.
What makes this album refreshing is apparent from the first moments of the first track, "God is Not Great." After beginning as all George Hrab albums do--with the last notes of the previous album--we get a lush a cappella introduction consisting of multilayered vocals from Geo, rich with chill-inducing harmony. Once the instruments come in, the arrangement is that of a typical rock song, but the strength of that opening carries throughout the rest of the album, with other interesting touches like bells on "Everything Alive Will Die Someday," a wonderful horn solo on "Atlanta," narration by Phil Plait on "Death from the Skies," and a sample of Geo's Mom's voice on "Hai Yookito 'Ya." What really propels this album, though, is the strength of the songwriting. Geo has an education in music, and it shows. He never settles for a typical chord progression or a too-easy rhythm, yet nothing comes across as unnatural, and the album never feels stagnant or repetitive.
Genre-wise, this album runs the gamut of what Geo has dabbled in before, and then some: rock, funk, prog, pop, soul, and big band are all present and mixed freely amongst each other. The lyrics here also are some of Hrab's strongest. He turns the rather clumsy phrase "Everything Alive Will Die Someday" into a catchy refrain, exhibits some fantastic wordsmithery on "Ms. Information," and is brutally honest and heartfelt on "Small Comfort." He knows how to be funny and poignant, and he knows when to combine them and when to keep them separate. As he is an outspoken and devoted member of the skeptic community, it would be easy to accuse him of being preachy and agenda-laden, and, unsurprisingly, topics like his atheism and skepticism are subjects of songs. But even on a song titled "God is Not Great," Geo does not come across as preachy or condescending; he professes his frustration with the concept of God, but he doesn't act like he is trying to convert anyone. The goal of this album is to entertain, not to proselytize.
I could talk a lot about nearly every song on Trebuchet, but I will focus on a few of my favorite tracks. "Fifty Stories" is a really touching story about two friends meeting for the first time in ages, about them being "something, but they don't know what that something really is." The ambiguity of the lyrics really makes the song work; it is never clear whether there is some romantic or platonic connection between them, or even what their genders or ages are, so, at its heart, it is simply about two long-lost friends, but it also can be any kind of story you imagine it to be. I love the sentiment with which it concludes: "Bye's been said so many times. Here's to 'Hello.'" The hard rock of "Remora" is awesome. Its refrain fits perfectly with the music, and the Zappa-esque bridge is entertainingly absurd. As much as I like the studio version of "Atlanta" here, nothing will beat the version I heard live at Musikfest in 2009 (crappy recording courtesy of my camera here). The way Geo's voice fades into the horn solo is haunting perfection. "Death from the Skies" proves that funk and astronomy are like chocolate and peanut butter. I think "Small Comfort" is the saddest song Geo has written, and he does a hell of a job with it. The lyrics provide one of the best meditations on death I have heard, the strings elevate the song to a nigh-transcendent level of beauty, and just the way it ends has given me more food for thought than most albums. Finally, "Happy Birthday Baby" is such a good imitation of a big band standard that I initially mistook it as a cover of a standard.
Trebuchet is an excellent album from start to finish, catchy and thought-provoking, and further evidence of why Mr. Hrab is one of my favorite people. It is only right to mention here that his weekly podcast is similarly excellent, and you should be listening to it. Geo has earned and deserves all of the success that has come to him lately, and I hope that his hard work continues to pay off. I recommend the album to everybody, because it would be most appropriate for Trebuchet to be the work to launch Geo into a wider sphere of musical appreciation. It is strong enough to do so.
After the pure prog and funk fun of Coelacanth, Interrobang was a step in the direction of slightly more straightforward rock, and Trebuchet continues this trend, albeit with the typically diverse Hrabian spectrum of styles. I emphasize this point, because I do not care for many contemporary rock artists (as may have been apparent already from the list so far). Even the world of indie rock has been leaving me cold lately--and maybe I simply am listening to the wrong people, but it takes a special kind of artist to make me want to listen to a rock song. George Hrab is such an artist.
What makes this album refreshing is apparent from the first moments of the first track, "God is Not Great." After beginning as all George Hrab albums do--with the last notes of the previous album--we get a lush a cappella introduction consisting of multilayered vocals from Geo, rich with chill-inducing harmony. Once the instruments come in, the arrangement is that of a typical rock song, but the strength of that opening carries throughout the rest of the album, with other interesting touches like bells on "Everything Alive Will Die Someday," a wonderful horn solo on "Atlanta," narration by Phil Plait on "Death from the Skies," and a sample of Geo's Mom's voice on "Hai Yookito 'Ya." What really propels this album, though, is the strength of the songwriting. Geo has an education in music, and it shows. He never settles for a typical chord progression or a too-easy rhythm, yet nothing comes across as unnatural, and the album never feels stagnant or repetitive.
Genre-wise, this album runs the gamut of what Geo has dabbled in before, and then some: rock, funk, prog, pop, soul, and big band are all present and mixed freely amongst each other. The lyrics here also are some of Hrab's strongest. He turns the rather clumsy phrase "Everything Alive Will Die Someday" into a catchy refrain, exhibits some fantastic wordsmithery on "Ms. Information," and is brutally honest and heartfelt on "Small Comfort." He knows how to be funny and poignant, and he knows when to combine them and when to keep them separate. As he is an outspoken and devoted member of the skeptic community, it would be easy to accuse him of being preachy and agenda-laden, and, unsurprisingly, topics like his atheism and skepticism are subjects of songs. But even on a song titled "God is Not Great," Geo does not come across as preachy or condescending; he professes his frustration with the concept of God, but he doesn't act like he is trying to convert anyone. The goal of this album is to entertain, not to proselytize.
I could talk a lot about nearly every song on Trebuchet, but I will focus on a few of my favorite tracks. "Fifty Stories" is a really touching story about two friends meeting for the first time in ages, about them being "something, but they don't know what that something really is." The ambiguity of the lyrics really makes the song work; it is never clear whether there is some romantic or platonic connection between them, or even what their genders or ages are, so, at its heart, it is simply about two long-lost friends, but it also can be any kind of story you imagine it to be. I love the sentiment with which it concludes: "Bye's been said so many times. Here's to 'Hello.'" The hard rock of "Remora" is awesome. Its refrain fits perfectly with the music, and the Zappa-esque bridge is entertainingly absurd. As much as I like the studio version of "Atlanta" here, nothing will beat the version I heard live at Musikfest in 2009 (crappy recording courtesy of my camera here). The way Geo's voice fades into the horn solo is haunting perfection. "Death from the Skies" proves that funk and astronomy are like chocolate and peanut butter. I think "Small Comfort" is the saddest song Geo has written, and he does a hell of a job with it. The lyrics provide one of the best meditations on death I have heard, the strings elevate the song to a nigh-transcendent level of beauty, and just the way it ends has given me more food for thought than most albums. Finally, "Happy Birthday Baby" is such a good imitation of a big band standard that I initially mistook it as a cover of a standard.
Trebuchet is an excellent album from start to finish, catchy and thought-provoking, and further evidence of why Mr. Hrab is one of my favorite people. It is only right to mention here that his weekly podcast is similarly excellent, and you should be listening to it. Geo has earned and deserves all of the success that has come to him lately, and I hope that his hard work continues to pay off. I recommend the album to everybody, because it would be most appropriate for Trebuchet to be the work to launch Geo into a wider sphere of musical appreciation. It is strong enough to do so.
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