Avant-jarre
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 02/21/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Remember Jean-Michel Jarre, hawker of New-Agey, synth-drenched, nineties mush-music? Well, what if he linked up with some outish, NY downtown dudes (and dudette)?
You'd get The Free Zen Society.
After trying my best to struggle through the syrupy soundscape purveyed by Peter Gordon (I thought his music worked better as Peter and Gordon, part of the sixties British Invasion), I finally came to the conclusion that said Mr. Gordon, founder of Thirsty Ear and executive producer of the Blue Series, must be largely responsible for the debacle that's descended on this once-fine enterprise.
Apparently, the musical mush contained herein sat in the vaults for two years, sadly achieving no mystical maturation, as will a fine Belgian beer.
It should have been left there.
But the ever-intrepid Mr. Gordon saw fit to exhume the fitful ruminations contained herein and overlay them, albeit ineptly, with his own fevered synth washes and other electronic exotica.
Me, I've just about given up on Thirsty Ear, what with the string of sad recordings recently released, such as the clunker by Scotty Hard. I'll give 'em one more chance, but they'd better get their act together soon and stop fleecing consumers with musical refuse, or they'll lose whatever creds they've garnered over the last half-decade or so.
By the way. I seem to have encountered a hiccup in my once-sunny dispositioned reviewing approach: more negative reviews than positive in my last handful. But, hopefully, all that will change and I'll return to my more typical slavishly cheerful mien in the next batch."