Search - Verlaines :: Way Out Where

Downes'intelligent rock/pop rises above the horde

07/04/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In Way Out Where, Graeme Downes once again forms a power trio, and again to unique effect. While not as dynamic as his albums such as Bird Dog (Mushroom), the lyrics are more intelligible, and Downes has finally discovered that with the best of them, he can also.....ROCK OUT. The album is rich with single-coil lesley-drenched AC-30 minor, 7th, 9th and 13th chords - a rarity on the typical "rock" album. The albums's ballads, like Cathedrals Under the Deep, are simply beautiful. Downes' PhD in Mahler is apparent, even behind the wall of joyful noise. Get this album!"

Worthy of all your love.

07/07/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The only thing wrong with "Way Out Where" is that it goes down too smoothly. Not to suggest it's a record that's "too" poppy or "too" polished; rather, "Way out Where" is a sophisticated record that's so thoroughly realized, you'll never notice the craftsmanship, only the final product. Intimate, sincere, intricate melodies that challenge conventional pop thinking carry you along or entreat you you to join them for a lazy walk, all without ever calling attention to their unique idosyncracies. The songs (not to say the sounds) on this record recall no band other than the Verlaines, and songwriter Graeme Downes' musical vocabulary is matched (almost) only by his lyrical vocabulary. Songs of love won, love lost and love currently being contested are written with intelligence and intimacy, sung in Downes' urgent-but-not-strident voice, accompanied by his turbo charged strum and driving pop band (and the occasional orchestra, whose arrangements are composed by Downes). The Verlaines haven't reinvented rock music; they've simply made it their own."

Powerhouse Kiwipop

sfobos | Massachusetts, USA | 06/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"WAY OUT WHERE is the answer to the question, "what would happen if you took the joyful, delirious strum of the Bats, hooked it up to a 600 hp engine and then amplified it like mad?" The results are wonderful: from the propulsive strum that signals the album's beginning in "Mission of Love" to the dynamic rush of emotion at the heart of "Blanket Over The Sky," and onwards to the build and explosion of "Incarceration," the Verlaines rock with the best of 'em. Coupled with Graeme Downes' typically brilliant writing, the impact is powerful and lasting -- and made even greater by the moments of relative calm that occasionally punctuate the album. "Lucky in My Dreams" is as playful and endearing a love song as you'll ever hear (albeit with a strong dose of Downes' bittersweet lyricism), while the closing "Dirge" is every bit as anguished, epic and string-soaked as the title suggests.So why does this terrific album fall short of 5 stars? Only because this is the same band that produced BIRD DOG -- and by comparison to that (very different) work alone, WAY OUT WHERE drops a half step behind. But that's just a matter of taste... hunt down either album, and you won't be sorry."