MWE Week Two: Ayreon, Zac Brown Band, and Father John Misty
Apocalypse and Math, The Musical!, A band that stays in its own lane but excels at their best, and the foundation for a greater career and insight into the artist's self.
Ayreon: The Final Experiment, 01011001, and The Theory of Everything
For someone who considers their taste to be fairly eclectic, metal is by far one of the biggest blindspots I have for any genre. There are a lot of factors as to why, but the main reason is a lot of its core elements just don’t do much for me. I’m not a fan of that chugging heavy riff (djent) that seems to characterize all of metal, I’m not really one for the growling vocals, and unless their music is willing to gear toward pop or symphony, there’s less room to make memorable melodies as much as there is for an intense, thrilling atmosphere. And I love atmosphere, but I prefer it when they’re tranquil and soothing to listen to, not when it’s heavy and overwhelming (not a great combination to someone sensitive to loud and sudden sounds). As a result, a lot of the metal I do like appeals to a very specific niche of mine. The two subgenres, in particular, I’ve gravitated towards are Celtic folk black metal and symphonic metal, both subgenres that add organic instrumentation and focus a bit more on melody to great a massive, jaw-dropping sound. It’s why in previous years I would praise albums from artists like Saor and Avantasia while outright ignoring Deftones, Code Orange, or god forbid Five Finger Death Punch.
But Ayreon covers a much more specific niche of mine. They definitely fall into the “symphonic metal” category but simply describing their music as that does a disservice to the immense amount of work and planning that goes into a typical Ayreon album. It’s not just one guy doing it. Sure, there is a mastermind behind it all, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, but Ayreon is a collaborative effort between several metal artists to create what is essentially a metal musical full of massive, epic music and layered stories about the human condition and the mysteries of the universe. And I do mean “musical”. Some of these albums have cast lists and everything, it’s amazing.
I initially jumped in with what is considered their best album, The Human Equation, and I fell in love with it pretty immediately. As a theatre kid, I loved watching this idea of a rock opera unfold and have its own characters represent different aspects of the story, all set against incredible production that was so massive and impressive that I was hooked the entire time listening to it. It was a lot to take in, definitely not an album you can take in parts, but still a fucking experience.
I wanted to hop into the rest of their music last year, listening to their essential albums in preparation for their album from last year, Transitus, but then I heard that the album was really underwhelming so I never went through with it. But hey, that’s what MWE is for, right? And though I couldn’t cover every album they’ve released, I figured I’d grab the most essential ones for the overall plot plus the ones I’ve been told are the most quality.
The Final Experiment is the very first album in their discography, introducing the world to Ayreon, the vessel through which a last-ditch attempt by humans in a dystopian world try to warn the people of the past of humanity’s inevitable doom. It seems as if Arjen got his vision for this project right away, as while the story itself feels a bit clunky and ends on a really weird note, the sound of this album is truly something to behold. It is absolutely a fucking opera, one that presents itself as so grand and important and demands you to watch it unfold. Ayreon’s voice is always shifting, switching between singers who bring their own energies into their performance, yet it never feels too disconnected from the base character of Ayreon. Ayreon himself turned out to be pretty fascinating. I like how he has the curiosity and wisdom not to show his cards too early, but he’s never spiteful or angry at anyone who doubts him or does him wrong like the village people and Merlin. He understands that they can’t see what he sees, and as much as he can try to warn them, he also knows what will ultimately be the downfall of humanity is themselves. The way their pride overwhelms their sense of reason and the rash decisions they make over things they cannot control or understand. Hell, Ayreon himself is a product of what will eventually doom mankind, technology (yeah, yeah, I know, I know). Even if machines overrun the world and strip humanity of their power, humans still use technology’s own power in an attempt to save themselves. They just never know when things become too late, and the anger of other humans and beings on this planet is what ultimately causes Ayreon’s message to be lost, carried into another vessel from another album as humanity continues to fight for its survival. It’s certainly a lot, but it’s definitely a worthwhile experience.
I feel less so about the semi-follow up to it, 01011001, which stands for Y in binary. The scope and grandiosity of Ayreon are still there, and it sounds incredible in its best moments, but it’s easily the story I found the least compelling out of the now four albums I’ve heard from this project. It’s about a race of aquatic beings called the Forever that managed to survive the apocalypse that Ayreon predicted on The Final Experiment through technological advancement, and when a comet passes and rebirths humans from their ashes, they’re suddenly given the chance to rebuild the human race and experience life before technology trounced their emotions. And yet, things go wrong when trying to speed up human advancement made those humans depend on the same technology that overwhelmed the Forever and their emotions began to fade again. So the beings have to decide whether to save humanity or let it burn like the failed experiment they always were. It sounds… kinda stupid, not gonna lie. It’s actually really hard to piece this album together because it’s trying to sell a shorter story in an hour and forty-two minute-long runtime. As such the album often feels like it repeats itself or spells out the plot for you in aggravating detail. This wouldn’t normally be a problem with a more straightforward story, but because the album has to not only implement a lot of lore from the previous albums but add on its own lore with the Planet Y and the Forever, the whole album feels really directionless and the pacing can drag at spots when it’s most obviously stretching out a single idea. It sounds like I’m harping on this album, but as convoluted and strange as its plot could be, I still think its best moments are pretty fucking incredible. Songs like “Liquid Eternity”, “Connect The Dots”, “Ride The Comet” and “River Of Time” are still wonderfully composed songs, and they polish the grandiose progressive metal sound that we expect from Ayreon and take them to the heights that remind us why this band is so special in the first place. Not to mention the album begins and ends incredibly strong, especially with what a monster of a finale “The Sixth Extinction” is. That song alone made this flawed, but great album worth it.
But I think the problem is mainly that I’m not all that invested in the actual Ayreon story. It’s definitely interesting and I respect the world-building, but I really liked how mostly self-contained The Human Equation was because it was easier to follow with distinct characters and a progression that truly felt like one massive musical production. In other words, what I wanted all along was The Theory of Everything. I’m gonna be honest, there’s a chance I actually might like it more than The Human Equation. This album is a MARVEL. An easy to follow, but gripping story with its own fleshed-out characters and hidden mythos with some of the brightest and best production any metal project has ever seen and it all flows perfectly together! It’s not connected to the overall Ayreon story, but it touches on similar themes of prophecy and discovery that feels distinctly Ayreon. Hell, its main character is literally named “The Prodigy”. A child who’s coded autistic and experiencing parental neglect turns out to be a mega genius, and everyone around him is trying to mold him into the person they want him to be whether it’s for good or for evil. Every character is incredibly distinct, not just in their performances, but in their relationship with The Prodigy. From his shitty manipulative dad treating him like garbage until his intellect helps him solve the formulas he’s struggled for years to comprehend to his love interest who’s charmed by his awkwardness and wants him to be her knight in shining armor, to his teacher who wants the best for him but also wants to escape from the mediocre life he’s led thus far, to my personal favorite, the rival who bitterly berates him and uses him to carry out criminal deeds and pull him away from the love interest. It feels like with how many people see “greatness” in him, The Prodigy has never actually figured out what his true purpose was, and once he realized the medication his father had been secretly feeding him was giving him a sense of clarity, he ends up chasing what his father wanted and trying to solve the big theory of everything that’s persisted in the minds of so many characters. It’s really chilling to watch The Prodigy slowly deteriorate as a character, and it’s easy to argue that everyone is at fault for leading The Prodigy down this path and eventually overdosing in a final push to solve the equation before dying of exhaustion. Have I mentioned the music is perfect yet? Because holy shit it is. I love the way this album flows from one song to the next, the way the instrumentals exhibit the flurry of numbers and images floating in The Prodigy’s head, the pacing that keeps this album from being too difficult to get through, to its potent ending that throws a wrench into the story’s logic, turning a grounded story into one of supernatural mystery, but not so much that it feels out of nowhere or unexplainable. Seriously, this album is fucking incredible. I had to pause partway through my listening session and I couldn’t wait to hear the rest of it after work! Phenomenal album, one of the all-time best of the 2010s.
I think the most important thing to gather from this whole thing is that I’m going to also be checking out Into The Electric Castle on my own time, which I’m told is self-contained and highly recommended as one of Ayreon’s best albums. I’m so enthused by how powerful The Human Equation and The Theory of Everything are that the fact that there’s another one that’s potentially as good as both is exciting to me. Obviously, I love the other two albums too, but the self-contained ones are the ones that really get me excited to hear more from this band. Here’s hoping the next time they release a new album, it goes down a little bit easier and we can get another classic under their belt.
Zac Brown Band: The Foundation, You Get What You Give and JEKYLL + HYDE
I feel like I owe it to the Zac Brown Band to finish their discography. Similar to Eric Church, I’ve loved them and always considered them a personal favorite, but I was really only familiar with their singles and not their albums. I guess you can argue those are the only ones you need, but at least the first two albums are so jam-packed with hits and beloved songs that I don’t feel like I can call myself a fan if I can’t experience them as a whole. Plus, it’d mean I willingly listened to their career rock-bottom album The Owl over them, and those are thirty-seven minutes I’m never getting back. So hey, like Eric Church, why don’t we take a look at a band that had many ups and downs, but could reach unimaginable heights at their best?
Going through the Zac Brown Band’s discography turned out to be a pretty straightforward experience. There was a lot I could talk about with Ayreon and their long, detailed albums, but Zac Brown Band is a group that gives you pretty much what you’d expect. They aren’t the most innovative country act of the modern era, but what they do well they excel at with flying colors. Zac Brown is an incredibly talented singer, with a powerful distinct voice that can be jovial in one song and emotionally gripping in the next. It never sounds like he’s half-assing anything whenever he sings, even in his very worst moments. He sounds especially great once his band starts harmonizing with him, which is pretty much the main draw of this band anyway. They all sound terrific together, and every time I hear those harmonies it hits that satisfying note for me that makes it so difficult to dislike them. Not to mention the band itself are phenomenal instrumentalists. The fiddles, guitars, drums, everything sounds fantastic, and the melodies and compositions can lead to some of the best country music you’ll hear anywhere. There really isn’t that much to them, admittedly they’re not even all that great of writers, but when they really hit that stride, they deliver so much music that I hold near and dear to my heart.
The Foundation is probably the album everyone is most familiar with. It has their iconic hit “Chicken Fried” after all, one of the longstanding most popular country songs of the previous decade. And while that song is obviously a classic, my favorite on the album has always been “Highway 20 Ride”, an emotional song about a divorced father pledging his loyalty and love to his son as he moves away and is forced to live his life without him. “Highway 20 Ride” basically became the blueprint for all of Zac Brown Band’s ballads. A lot of songs on later albums mimic its structure almost to a T, and they arguably recreated it with their apology single after The Owl disappointed all of their fans, “The Man Who Loves You The Most”. It’s that damn good and remains one of my all-time favorite singles from the band. The rest of the album, well, it’s what you’d expect. A handful of lighthearted beach jams, laid back feel-good country jams, a handful of emotional ballads, and a solid cover of “Jolene” near the end. There are no surprises on this album, but I was so caught up in the album’s sound and atmosphere that I couldn’t help but get sucked in from front to back. The only song I’m not really wild about is the borderline comedy song “It’s Not OK” which has some odd passive-aggressive attitudes against bums, but other than that, the best way I can describe The Foundation is comfort music. Put this album on when it’s warmer and the clouds are hiding, leaving nothing but fresh blue skies and modest weather, and you’ll feel this album at its strongest.
You could argue that You Get What You Give is more of the same, but I consider it more of a refinement of their sound. A lot of the same ideas and sounds, but taken to its absolute best state. It’s not just a great album, it’s rapidly risen in my ranks to be one of my absolute favorites of all-time. It’s the same thing I said earlier about The Foundation; this is comfort music in the best possible sense. These songs are so perfectly crafted, each with distinct, likable sounds alongside even stronger writing in both their ballads and party jams. Some of their best ever songs are on here. I already named “Colder Weather” the best country hit song of the 2010s. It’s an incredible song, one that still leaves me in awe even on the one hundredth listen. But let’s not forget the excellent duet with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”, “Knee Deep” which might be my favorite beach jam from the group, the long, but joyous instrumental solos on “Who Knows”, the hilarious story of a drunkard trying to get home on “Make This Day” (probably their most underrated song), there’s so many gems that I just want to come back to over and over again! There isn’t a single dud on this either, it’s all-around fantastic! Zac Brown Band’s discography is worth listening to (as long as you stop right after Welcome Home and never look back), but this is the album to check out if you want to see the full potential of this band and what they can do at their best. It’s worth it.
Ultimately both these albums are deceptively simple but are all the better for it. Zac Brown and his band’s talent comes so naturally that they’re able to repeat most of the same formula and come out with consistent quality each time. And again, they’re not super deep or complex or do anything all that innovative! They’re just so damn good at what they do that an expected album of theirs guarantees you a seal of quality. Their third album Uncaged is also a massive highlight of their career, once again furthering their sound while still delivering the jams that make the band so memorable. Unfortunately, this is where things get a little rockier for the band. Zac Brown loves country music, but you can tell that he doesn’t like being defined by it. Which I honestly sympathize with, because he was probably afraid he’ll end up repeating The Foundation and You Get What You Give for the rest of his life. Which is why he decided their next album, JEKYLL + HYDE, would be pinned as Zac Brown Band something more experimental, flirting with poppier sounds and throwing around ideas to find something that really sticks. That way, Zac Brown Band can continue making the music they love while finding new ways to innovate it for a wider audience that’s rapidly losing interest in country music.
This album is weird. Really weird. But it’s at least more explicable than Eric Church’s The Outsiders from last week. Again, I know a lot of this stemmed from Zac Brown not wanting the band to go stale, so I can’t blame him for taking some weird left turns on this album. But also… fuck, where do I even start? It starts out innocently enough, with “Beautiful Drug” being their EDM/country mashup that honestly works better than I remember, followed by straightforward Zac Brown songs that prove that the band’s still got it. “Loving You Easy” and “Homegrown” were very successful singles, and you can tell why they were safe bets in comparison to some of the deep cuts on this one. Because once you get to the off-putting vintage sound of “Mango Tree”, complete with a confusing Sara Bareilles duet over big showtime horns, the album kind of goes off the rails a little bit. I mean, it’s not a bad song, it’s actually quite good! But wow, it’s JARRING to hear right after the straightforward and comfortable “Homegrown”. Then that’s followed by another jarring feature, the late Chris Cornell hopping on to a full-on hard rock song where Zac Brown is bellowing over roaring, intense guitars. This one I’m less inclined to say it’s good. The influences are obvious and I don’t like this kind of rock and roll to begin with unless the lead singer really sells it. Chris Cornell does, Zac Brown, not so much. There ends up being some weirder tracks down the line that just don’t work very well. “One Day”, a song produced by Cee Lo Green of all people, is so oddly tepid and detached from reality that you can’t tell what mood it’s trying to set, “Junkyard” leans harder into the scrappy rock angle with an interesting story that belonged on a better song, and I was completely thrown off learning that a cover of an old Jason Isbell song was on here. It’s a great cover, but it’s such a weird choice to lump in with the rest of this album’s odd dartboard songs, it’s almost out of place. And that’s before I learned that most of the album was co-written by a then behind the scenes writer by the name of Niko Moon. Yeah, this fucking guy!
Horrid fucking song by the way. Worst hit of the year so far and I doubt it’s gonna get that much worse.
But to be fair, as messy and weird as JEKYLL + HYDE is, it’s honestly really good all things considered. Badly sequenced and has some pretty weird duds scattered throughout, but there’s also that seal of Zac Brown Band quality that shows up in its best moments. Again, “Loving You Easy” and “Homegrown” are very good songs. “Castaway” is very underrated and clashes heads with “Knee Deep” as my favorite beach jam from them. “Wildfire” is a great blend of rock and country and a pretty solid album closer. “Remedy” and “I’ll Be Your Man (Song For A Daughter)” have kind of corny swelling choruses, but they sound so good that I find myself loving them anyway. Plus, “Tomorrow Never Comes” is an outstanding song that takes the organic beauty of the band’s instrumentation while using electronic elements to enhance the song and make it something truly special. I’d argue this album is the antithesis to The Owl in terms of quality. Not all great, but its best moments show that Zac Brown Band were absolutely capable of advancing their sound through experimentation and genre-blending without sacrificing their dignity or good taste. It’s definitely worth a listen, even if it’s the weakest of their good albums.
It’s funny that I ended up with so much more to say about JEKYLL + HYDE than I did The Foundation and You Get What You Give. The truth is though that you don’t need to “get” the Zac Brown Band. They appeal to a specific sound and niche that works for audiences that use music to relax or escape from reality. They’re the definition of feel-good, and they don’t have to be too challenging to resonate with audiences. They know what they’re good at, and they stick to it. Most of the time. I hope Zac Brown is in a better place mentally than where he was making The Owl. I joke about it, but there are probably darker secrets to that album that isn’t my business to discuss, and I hope Zac Brown is making healthier choices and is in a better place so when he does make his next album, he can be more focused and less self-destructive.
Fear Fun by Father John Misty
If you look at Father John Misty’s artist page on Spotify, you’ll find that four out of ten of his most popular songs at this current moment are from this album. That both surprises me and doesn’t surprise me. I figured something a bit more ubiquitous from Father John Misty like I Love You Honeybear or maybe Pure Comedy would be a bit more popular (the latter is his only Top 10 album after all), but I guess most people gravitated toward the album that started it all. And again, in some ways, it makes sense. I first got into Father John Misty with 2015’s I Love You Honeybear, followed by 2017’s Pure Comedy and most recently 2018’s God’s Favorite Customer. This means I basically watched Josh Tillman’s growing career under this stage name without even hearing the album that started it. So going back to this album and experiencing the songs that made him a big name in indie music was incredibly easy. It’s by far his most straightforward project.
There’s a loose arc that ties around his future albums that Fear Fun doesn’t really have. I Love You Honeybear is about the turbulent roller coaster of his relationship with his wife, Pure Comedy is about Tillman’s escalating nihilism in the face of a world plummeting to its demise, and God’s Favorite Customer is basically an extended apology album after he nearly jepordized his marriage cheating on his wife (which is never explicitly said, but heavily implied). Fear Fun isn’t really about anything. It’s a series of stories where Josh Tillman remarks on some of the stranger aspects of his life living in Hollywood and seeing the bizarre phoniness of the fated “star city” unfold. It’s a cynical album, obviously, but Tillman’s snark and the way he never pulls any punches against himself keeps it from being insufferable. Plus, some of these songs are so ridiculous and comical that it’s hard to dislike hearing Tillman soulfully croon to a girl while fucking her in a cementary. But there’s also a bit of humanity in Tillman’s weariness that makes it easy to sympathize with him in his lowest moments. “Nancy From Now On” is slowly becoming his most popular song outside of “Real Love Baby”, and it works as a drinking song that gets so down and buried in its own alcoholism that it could only play at late night bars when everyone’s gone and only the most miserable remain. It’s a good look! I realize that’s a horrible thing to say, but I mean, that’s what drinking songs are for, right?
One thing that listening to Fear Fun helped me appreciate is seeing how well Tillman has since progressed his sound. This is textbook Father John Misty, with the exact same psychedelic folk sound and dejected dry wit I’ve grown to love. But it’s also so textbook that I don’t really consider any of these among his best songs. It’s a great album, don’t get me wrong, and it definitely has some excellent songs like “Only Son of a Ladiesman”, “I’m Writing A Novel” and “Everyman Needs a Companion”, when I think of the songs from Father John Misty I love the most, there’s usually more going on than meets the eye. The best songs of I Love You, Honeybear take the theatricality of their relationship and brings them to a scale that’s absurd and frankly oversharing, but is so earnest in its presentation that you can’t help but admire the connection they have together. Pure Comedy at its best challenges its own nihilism and apathy and forces it to find some sense of optimism and humanity within it. God’s Favorite Customer is the moment when Tillman has to confront his own flaws and rampant shittiness without hiding it under his usual shields of sarcasm and irony. Fear Fun… Well, you don’t really learn much. Which may be my own fault for starting with his more developed albums first, but since this is a starting point, it’s really just an introduction to Josh Tillman’s new persona. A snarky weirdo who looks at the world around him and sees every calculated move and built up personality, all the while being aware of his own role in playing the same game as everyone else.
This is a great album though, and a very good starting point for Father John Misty as a whole. We’re due for a new album from him soon, and I’m glad that I can say that I don’t know what to expect from here. As long as Josh Tillman doesn’t fully disappear up his own ass, I’m excited.
Next week: A shorter look at several artists, including the fascinating soundscapes of the xx, the colorful world of Danny Brown, and Evidence’s contemplative Weatherman trilogy, as well as a brief pit stop on the Ghost album that’s impossible to spell.