April 21, 2009
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Artist : Meg & Dia
Album : Here, Here and Here
Label : Sire Records, Warner Music Group
Original Release Date : April 21, 2009
- RECOMMENDED LISTENING -"Meg & Dia" finally released their much anticipated album "Here, Here and Here." This will be their second album under a major label (Warner Bros Records) following their 2006 release of "Something Real" (the album that made me a huge fan of theirs). Counting their self-published album "Our Home Is Gone," this will actually be their third album in their relatively young career as a band. While their previous album "Something Real" was based mostly on novels they've read, their new album is a lot more in the introspective fashion, but it should be pointed out that a song like "Hug Me" is in fact based off the book "Brave New World." As a singer-songwriting duo, Meg & Dia is definitely in the indie-alternative rock genre of music, and many fans were concerned that this release will mark their turn in attempting to be more accessible by becoming more mainstream pop rock (read : "sell outs"). Those fans don't have to worry about their integrity because based on the songs themselves, it's easy to tell that they did not purposefully try to make it more appropriate to a mass audience.
What makes Meg & Dia "Meg & Dia" is still present in "Here, Here and Here." Dia's singing voice in itself is unique enough to define the band, and she shows her talents in a song like "Inside My Head" where she can sing normally, quietly, yelling, to what sounds almost like rapping (immediate sounding singing?). Their habit to change a few words of the chorus each time it's sang to give it variety is still present, which can be found in the song "What if." The heavy use of poetic writing and metaphors are still there, as the song "Black Wedding" shows. Their use of a piano is still being implemented in their songs, like in "Kiss You Goodnight." Their nice simple rock melodies will also never leave the band, as heard in the opening song "Going Away." Even though Dia is the primary singer, Meg also contributes her voice, especially by singing the main verses of "The Last Great Star In Hollywood." While on that subject, vocal harmonies in choruses is still a staple for the band, which can be heard in the song "One Sail."
"Here, Here and Here" is produced by Howard Benson (The All-American Rejects, My Chemical Romance, Flyleaf) and the one main thing that a fan will notice is that this album is the "most produced" out of all their albums. It's debateable as to whether this is a good thing or bad thing, because some die hard fans don't like it when the songs sound too reliant to "studio magic." This album has a lot more vocal layerings, where verses overlap, and can be found in a song like "Fighting For Nothing." They've even allowed a song to include a male singer, with Tom Higgenson of the "Plain White T's" doing a duet with Dia on the song "Bored Of Your Love." Another thing new for the band are the use of additional instruments like the percussion work that can be found in "Are There Giants too, In the Dance," the harmonica in "Agree to Disagree" that gives it a somewhat country sound, and even violins that work beautifully with the title track "Here, Here and Here."
The album itself has fast become a personal favorite of mine (like their last one - go figure), although I do have a few concerns. "Going Away" is a good easy listening song, but I thought they should have chosen something more in your face rock and roll as the opener for the album, like maybe "Black Wedding" or "What If." Some of the studio "trickery" like vocal distortions in "Are There Giants too, In the Dance" seem unnecessary to me, and the vocal layering can be annoying at times, especially if I want to sing along to the song. I'm also disappointed that the album sounds like it's a victim of the "loudness war" as well. Those are relatively minor complaints though, and I'm glad that I'm finding the album to be full of really strong tracks to add to their growing catalog of songs.
As I mentioned earlier, this album's statement was to be more about the point of views of Meg and Dia, and it really does sound very personal to who they are, what they believe, and what they feel. As Dia mentioned in her blog post the other day, they do not hold back on what they want to say, whether it be about religion ("Black Wedding"), politics ("Are There Giants too, In the Dance"), love ("One Sail"), vanity ("The Last Great Star in Hollywood"), or death ("Kiss You Goodnight"). Two particular songs that I quickly grew attached to are "Fighting For Nothing" and "Here, Here and Here." "Fighting For Nothing" inspires me to try and overcome the many challenges in life, especially when things start feeling hopeless, and reminds me that dreams can come true if you try hard enough. The song also reminds me that dreams more often than not get sidelined when you stay on a path that leads to nowhere... or nothing. "Here, Here and Here" is actually quite the melancholy song, because it reflects who Meg & Dia is as a touring band, in that they have a lot of rewards for the life they live, but at the same time they aren't completely happy for not living a more "normal" life anymore with their family and friends. All they have left is to create music that compels them to keep moving forward, to satisfy their fans who love what their songs mean to them personally, who love what their songs stand for, and who love how their songs sound. Heart, mind, and ears indeed.
I'm glad that Meg & Dia continue to speak what's on their mind, because even though the subject matter of these songs is about them, they still come off feeling quite personal to who I am, what I believe, and what I feel as well. "Here, Here and Here" has a very diverse set of songs for the Meg & Dia band, and clearly they are still growing musically, but at least it's for the better.
Choice songs to listen to : "Fighting For Nothing," "Here Here and Here," "Hug Me," "Kiss You Goodnight," and "One Sail."
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