Reviews

Duncan Sheik

White Limousine

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Review Date: 2006-02-15

Duncan Sheik is one of those artists who doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves. His first three albums are all good in their own right. Each album had a different approach. His Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album was his promising first attempt, Daylight was him confirming himself as the new Matthew Sweet, and Phantom Moon was him announcing himself as the new proto-Jeff Buckley. White Limousine is his attempt to combine a lot of what he has done before. ‘Hey Casanova’ is vintage Duncan Sheik – soulful piano before the drums et al kick in for the chorus. Unfortunately, the chorus isn’t as strong as his choruses of the past, and the song proves to be somewhat forgettable. ‘I Don’t Believe In Ghosts’ is the Duncan Sheik we know and love (or used to love in the case of many people). It has a brilliant sing-along quality, an excellent string section and a nice pounding rhythm. The song builds up to a Coldplay-style crescendo and never lets you go for the remainder.

‘White Limousine’ is a continuation of quality. It’s a perfect choice for the title of the album also. The song itself is a critique of America (or at least that’s what I get from it): “America, America, this is our reward / Everything is boring, and everyone is bored.” It’s not quite as harsh as Bloc Party’s ‘Helicopter’ or Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ album, but the message still gets across. The solo is one of Sheik’s best yet. The ironic last line “we have won the war” sums up the song perfectly.

‘Nothing Fades’ is Sheik in Jeff Buckley Phantom Moon mode. The problem is that Sheik is no Jeff Buckley, in fact he’s not even Tim Buckley. He does have a nice voice, but it’s not a spectacular voice like that fondly remembered tragic legend had. The song itself is not up to much either, and is another forgettable tune. ‘Fantastic Toys and Corduroys’ has one of the best song names I’ve heard in ages. Its beginning sounds like a Sigur Rós song before entering more familiar Sheik territory. This is a good thing, as only Sigur Rós (or possibly their compatriots Anima) can do that kind of music. One of the best things about Sheik’s music is his ability to contrast as well as combine the up-tempo with the slowed down. This is showcased here perfectly.

‘I Wouldn’t Mind’ is another of the slowed down tracks, but this one is better than ‘Nothing Fades’. The lyrics are better (“fighting words, they sound absurd”), the melody is better, and the now familiar crescendo builds strongly around the three minute mark. Herein lies the problem, however. The lyrics and melody are better – but not that much better, and the crescendo is a little too predictable. The album returns to power with ‘Shopping’ –a song straight out of The Edge’s ‘Big Book of Barre Chords’. And it’s one of the best songs on the album as a result. If you’re going to emulate someone, U2 is a never a bad place to start. He also makes the proposition of shopping sounding strangely appealing (Karl Marx would have hated him!)

‘Land’ is both soothing and infectious, and is definitely the best of the slow numbers. The rest left something to be desired – this only leaves you desiring to hear it again. And it doesn’t try to be something it’s not; even after the repeated line “Brace yourself here it comes”, it doesn’t attempt to increase in volume, actually the opposite – it ends. ‘Star-Field on Red Lines’ has a simple childlike melody. This works in this situation, and Sheik achieves the unthinkable on this album – two good slow songs in a row (Phantom Moon was full of them, but things have changed since). The song could do with female backing vocals though –this would increase it no end.

‘The Dawn’s Request’ is a continuation of the trend of good songs. It’s a mid-tempo number with the usual singer-songwriter lyrics “worry about the world/Worry about a girl”. At over `five minutes, it drags a bit – and could have done with some careful editing. ‘So Gone’ is reminiscent of a medieval tune (it would have even been more so if it was played on a lyre, but nobody uses lyres these days unfortunately). Once again it seems that Sheik could have done with female backing – as his own backing vocal augments his own lead vocal a bit too much. ‘Hymn’ ends the album on a high – and you can’t put a bad track at the end of an album – otherwise it would be anticlimactic. Even if the rest of the album was bad, the last song will remain after the album finishes. Because of this, you always want to end with something solid. ‘Hymn’ is that something solid.

Tracks to Download: White Limousine, Hymn, Shopping, I Don’t Believe In Ghosts, Fantastic Toys and Corduroys

Score: 6.6

Could have been so much more, but it’s let down by numerous songs. Especially the poor, slower songs. Stick to the pop Sheik and we’ll be happy, Dunc.

- Ronan Hunt-Murphy