Madding Crowd: Finding The I
Friday, 28 Mar 2008 17:50
Finding The I: the first of three concept albums
Alegria Records, out April 1st.
In a nutshell…
A mid-life crisis without the Porsche
What's it all about?
Finding The I is the first of three concept albums that follows the life of Billy as he recovers from the car crash that is him burning out and losing all sense of identity.
The album seems to offer some elusive comment on the demonic potential of modern life presenting this with the backdrop of middle-aged pub rock.
Who's it by
Madding Crowd are the band formed and fronted by Mark Herbert: a middle-aged ex-teacher and boadroom exec and the brains behind Finding The I. He is a man on a journey whose experiences through life have given him his unique insight into the world.
As an example…
"You circumscribed my world, you showed me demons/You blamed the human race, the tired commuter/You made contempt look cool, you made me hate" – Salad Days (Amy In Flames)
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Not very likely – and that's enough said.
What the others say
"Hardly revolutionary but this album has summat going for it in its solid craftsmanship." – altnation.com
So is it any good?
When the opening line of first track Modern Man hears Mark Herbert's voice fail miserably in its attempt to hit the right notes (a mix between Bryan Ferry and my mate Rick the drunk) expectations are never too high.
The sad thing is I really wanted to love this and there is so much to love in the idealism behind Madding Crowd – abandoning the system and putting out the music you dream of. But, as the sum of its part's Finding The I falls desperately short.
Madding Crowd have obviously paid their dues across dozens of toilet venues but sadly this is probably all that they're suited to.
A concept album about recovering from a car crash Finding The I might actually be the car crash itself. There are all the right parts and it keeps moving forwards but at the end of its run the whole thing just falls apart.
3/10
Mat Strowbridge
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