Living These Rhythm and Blues
When I first reviewed Mr. Bitterness’ self-released Epic Flail, I wrote that “listening to Epic Flail is like listening to the bastard child of Joy Division and Henry Cow.” Yeah, I know it’s a little silly, but after his latest album listening to Destined for Dust, I can definitively say that Mr. Bitterness is the really the long-lost love child of Ian Curtis and Ian McCulloch.
As many of you who read this blog know, I really don’t buy music anymore. I subsist on a diet of Creative Commons music which is put out freely by musicians and curators of netlabels. But Randal Helm aka Mr. Bitterness is a musician who I broke this rule for based on his on the success of Epic Flail and the inordinate amount of time it took Helm to make this record. As a matter of fact, I plopped down $15 bucks for Destined for Dust without previewing one song. Never fear, this is a “Name Your Price” release, so you can either download it for free or give Helm some of your money. Your choice.
Though Destined for Dust borders more on the synth-pop spectrum than Helm’s previous release, I found the hooks to be refreshing and the lyrics to be original —if anyone can incorporate Ikea in a song successfully without making one cringe then kudos to that guy. Though only 6 tracks, Destined for Dust comes in at 36 minutes and none of his songs flounder under their extended length. My two favorite songs from my repeated listens are “Destined for Dust” and “Talk to Tracey”, both of which display Helm’s talents at their best: synth-pop songs filled with English pathos and American disillusionment. I’ll be playing Mr. Bitterness’ Destined for Dust many times over 2012 and will probably be mentioning it in my 2012 best of post.
And a few things that really have nothing to do with the music. First, if you don’t follow Mr. Bitterness on Twitter (@mrbitterness), you should. And lastly, Manuel Sanchez (www.azzusicart.com) created a new cover for Destined for Dust. I’m sharing it here for anyone who might want to download it. Lastly, do we really have to wait another year and a half for a new Mr. Bitterness album?
