Chris Walla: ‘Field Manual’
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Chris Walla Field Manual Rating: 3.5/5 |
Chris Walla has long been known for his mad production skills. The guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie has produced albums for some big names including The Decemberists, Tegan and Sara, Nada Surf and even St. Louis’ own So Many Dynamos. Unlike Death Cab bandmate Ben Gibbard whose side project, The Postal Service, has become hugely popular, Walla’s own side band, Martin Youth Auxiliary, never reached the masses. Walla’s talent, though, has been influencing pop music for some time, and it’s high time he gets some name recognition.
Walla follows in the footsteps of greats like Prince and Beck (maybe he should drop the Chris and join in on the one name glory) by playing all of the instruments on all of the tracks except drums. Death Cab’s Jason McGerr and Kurt Dahle of the New Pornographers split time behind the set.
The first song on the album “Two-Fifty” is Walla’s attempt at a melodic synth-driven song. It doesn’t work. It lacks the visceral emotion that made the Postal Service so popular and seems oddly out of place with the rest of the album. Walla’s voice seems over-produced, as if he set his vocoder to angel setting.
The album redeems itself with “Sing Again,” an upbeat 2:30. The vocals are softer so as to let the music itself take a more prominent role in the song. Not to say the lyrics aren’t needed. Quite the contrary, Walla puts in this album the same songwriting skills that have made Death Cab so popular.
“Geometry & C” is a very Death Cab-sounding track, even featuring McGerr on drums. The guitar line stands out and is complimented nicely by Walla’s voice and the repetitiveness of the chorus line. Walla sings, “Let your heart keep the time, keep the time, keep the time.”
A side note but an interesting story: while traveling between Canada and the U.S., the hard drive that contained the master copies of all songs on the album was confiscated by Homeland Security.
If you already like Death Cab for Cutie or have the need for a new album to listen to while walking slowly or doing math homework, this is for you. Just don’t think you’re going to find dancy upbeat tracks that will be stuck in your head for weeks.
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