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| CursiveThe Ugly Organ2003 Saddle Creek 
  Review by: abileneINlove See others by this writer saddle creek website. (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on March 11th 2003 What I said at the end of my review of Domestica, nearly 2 years ago. For those looking for a ground breaking indie album, this isn't it. It's good, it's solid, but it's no "Relationship of Command." Saddle-Creek puts out good stuff, but they will never breed a scene changing record. Some stuff is not listner friendly enough, and sometimes it just never gets enough attention to go past that.So my words I eat. Bright Eyes has been suckling the Rolling Stone teet and the product of which has been in an increase of Tascam 4-track recorders. So all the boys in tight sweaters and designer jeans (drugs) can "document our sadness." Though Conor is quick enough to submit his greatness in homage to Tim Kasher's throne ("Tim, I heard the new record. Yeah, and its better than good."), we find Cursive taking the backseat to Oberst's warbles (as far as Alt. Press and Spin are concerned, us scenesters know better. ::smirks under meticulously unkempt locks of hair::) Yet Oberst is right. This record is better than good. Actually, it is fantastic. A horn section is used in the single "Art Is Hard," and the bounce of the song is not unlike a creepy indie-rock Circus. Greta's contributions darken the songs with each swipe of her cello and the rhythm section is precise as always. The guitars squeal and bark at each other appropriately (and at times inappropiately but only to add to the chaos of the matters at end), but at the center there is Tim Kasher. In an interview Clint described Kasher as an indie-rock Michael Jordan, in that he makes everyone around him sound that much better. Kasher is the maestro in the "Ugly Organ" orchestra and he feverishly whips about and throatily yearns in regions of passion only dreamt about for others. His shirt is untucked from his cumberbundt and he smiles sickly as he leads the pit to crescendo after crescendo. Lyrically, this album shows literally no hope. Kasher does not believe in love or even himself. While "8 Teeth To Eat You" showed us an impersonal story teller, "The Ugly Organ" Kasher bares all. This is not the tear-brimmed, wide-eyed honesty of "Domestica," but this is a bare bones account of Kasher's struggle with being personal. His intentions of creating music without any preconceptions or pressure is an overwhelming theme. In closing, Cursive has created another semi-themed album, nearly flawless with untoppable lyrics and musical calamity; the scenery to vocal perfection and one man's life. I applaude thee Cursive. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Buy this cd for your teenie bopper daughter. good record. i like this cd a lot, must buy for any cursive fan obviously, and a good buy for anyone else. i dont know if its as good as domestica, maybe if it was a little longer it would compare, thats really my only complaint. right handed slight of hand is awesome, driftwood is awesome, tims voice is awesome throughout. staying alive goes on for too long, but its a saddle creek record, so im not complaining. pretty good cd to drink to. bottoms up Umm...I believe they're still on Saddle are you all retarded? have any of you actually listened to cursive before domestica!? this record is garbage. the lyrics are trite and lame. oh, isnt it so clever how they play organs when he talks about organs!?! the music is overproduced and very poorly mixed. they seem like theyre trying to market themselves to a pop crowd now. what happened to the band that wrote "the storms of early summer"!??! "this review makes me feel like a retard for having uncombed hair." I felt ripped off when I got this cd...so little music, so much more ambient filler. Dane Cook does fucking rule! sticky_floor remembers: this review makes me feel like a retard for having uncombed hair. "tell me, do your scenester tendencies fit in well at mizzou?" "haha most real emo is rarely about girls." good review, great album. Cursive are amazing. Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. I submitted a review for this album about 3 months ago, and still, it goes unposted... let me tell you, it's alot better than this review.... id suggest you quit name dropping and review the album. This album is pretty damn good, but it seems to me that Cursive is at the brink of something epic and didn't quite hit it here. Songs like "The Recluse," "Driftwood," and "Sierra" have incredible lyrics and backing music. These songs follow from the Domestica style with the guitar interplay and elaborate on the sound of "The Martyr," arguably the best song on Cursive's previous full-length. "Screw you guys. I'm in college." yes best cd, at least, of this year. i want scotts review! how did this album not get a ten from the reviewer?! best cd ive heard in a LONG time. well im glad i know why the cd is so fucking great. or even how hardcore they are? "Sierra" is the best song on this album... Screw you guys. I'm in college. the score is for the review "This record is awesome. I don't know why people think this bands is emo. Half this album is about the shittiness of the music industry, that doesn't seem emo to me. A good amount of their songs aren't about girls or anything. Anyway, this shit is sweet." This album is pee my pants good. Best album I've heard this year cursive is amazing, one of the best live shows i have ever seen. the new album seems promising. i'm going to have to check it out. Cursive is pretty cool, too bad this review comes off sounding condescending. This record is awesome. I don't know why people think this bands is emo. Half this album is about the shittiness of the music industry, that doesn't seem emo to me. A good amount of their songs aren't about girls or anything. Anyway, this shit is sweet. i can't believe you called "Relationship of Command" a groud-breaking indie record. with ATDI you have to go with In Casino Out. In that Bright Eyes song ("Nothing Gets Crossed Out") it seems more as if Conor is referring to the new Good Life record, "Black Out," rather than Cursive. record of the year, "sierra", the lyrics, amazing. The b-side on the art is hard cds is really good to, even though a bit creepy. This is weird classical/carnie music. I expected Fantastic Dan to show up to my house when I was playing it on my stereo. Yet I like it. Can't wait to see this band live. I've owned this record for less than 12 hours and I've only listened once, but first impression...sounded a little like being at the circus. I guess I need to give it some more spins. Hopefully, it's a 'grower.' thank god for saddlecreek. Yeah, I am not digging this review so much but I am buying this record today. 10 stars for how much I want to listen to this. Yea the review kind of confused me... This album is amazing but your review is horrible. You talk about Conor Oberst more than anyone in Cursive, get over it. The Ugly Organ is the single most impressive record the Creek has put out to date. If I didn't already have this album for a few months I'd really wonder (after reading this review) what it sounds like. Great album crappy review. Yes you use big words and paint magical mystical pictures in our heads and you've mentioned bright eyes/Conor nearly ten times but what about this album or this band? I was expecting a few more paragraphs to tell us a little more about the music or even the extra videos on the enhanced CDs but then I realized I was already into the comments section. amazing. 5 stars. DUBAR IS AN Idiot. Who gives a shit if anything is emo or not. thats not a basis for judging music. if you like it you like it, if you dont you dont. I'm not usually a fan of "emo", but Cursive manages to stand out as one of the few bands in a trendy genre with originality and a lot of energy that you just cant find anywhere else. That being said, this is Cursive's finest album yet. Wow. Which song does Conor say that? when conor says on his cd, "Tim I heard your album and its better than good" he's talking about The Good Life album Black Out. |
