Never judge a book by it's cover and all that. Never judge a CD by it's track 1. Do that and you may assume that JOHN GARRISON could be a seminal artist in the vain of Thom Yorke and others.
“When The Lights Go Out” is the curtain raiser and provides a very interesting opener. It creeps and builds in a very “Kid A” fashion, taking you on a wee journey higher and higher until the crescendo. Searing vocals, classical but funky at the same time. The lyrics are poetic “judgement day, i would not want to be in your shoes that day/you may see burns on me/ but I will stand tall defiantly.” It does sound a litle too 'Kid A' to be deemed totally original, but it is a strong opening track that inspires further listening.
And it's not that there aren't further flashes of brilliance on the album, it's just that they're very well concealed in and amongst bland balladeering. The use of strings and pianos as well as loops and effects is not particularly new, but it does show craft-manship of some sort. Many musicians were involved in the making of this record, and they are used creatively at times. 'Carousel' is quite chaotic, but descends into a boring chorus that it never really recovers from. 'Convincing Myself' is more of the same, and it's at this point that
'Walking On Broadway' is a boring little number with generic lyrics and a tune that makes no impression whatsoever. 'Bugs to the Light' is a lighter in the air moment and bows down to the general conventions of the indie-rock ballad. This is followed in quick succession and equally dull 'Shadow' and 'Below the Radar' (imagine every bad indie band that got signed in the wake of Britpop). When fist clenching, there really is nothing to sustain interest in Garrison's music. The songs could just as easily be sung by a boy-band looking for a Christmas hit than by a man who would possibly like to be considered in the same bracket as Thom Yorke. Worse, it could probably be performed by Maroon 5.
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It should be pointed out here that this review isn't damning 'Above the Cosmos' by comparing it to one of this country's finest musicians. It's that the influence is plain to see, and when you're imitating the best, you need to be really fucking good. The criticism is that the good bits are far outweighed by the bad bits.
Garrison's voice is often verging on stunning, but at other times it just falls flat and it's hard not to skip back a few tracks to make sure it's part of the same album. When up-tempo, the music can sear, with the aforementioned musical melting pot merging well, but these moments are so rare. Full points for attempting to do a diverse album, but it's at the cost of any identity. Hopefully Garrison can reflect on what works and what doesn't when it comes to creating more music.
There is talent there, it's just bogged down in and amongst some real dross. Download track 1 and wait for things to get better.
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