The unfortunate story of Emily Haines
I enjoyed Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Emily Haines voiced her spunky poetry amid mid-tempo punk ballads, complemented by sporadic flourishes of soft pillow synth. The combination of catchy, voice-follow-chord progressions fit nicely next to Haines' swooning lullabies. Her once again highly political sophomore release, Live it Out, uses much of the same formulas but to a lesser degree. If I didn't know better, I would assume Live it Out was released before Old World. The digression exists mainly on an instrumental level.
There is an immediate internal aversion to a song like "Handshake." The brazen predictability with which it commences, stings the eardrums. Upon hearing the broken police siren chorus that ensues soon there after, I found myself close to wincing. Twiddling guitars arrive too late to save "Patriarch On A Vespa" from a similar catastrophe. "Poster of a Girl" harbors two of, what I would consider, ultimate song-killers: breathy foreign language intervals (that's cool you speak French... I am afraid, however that the effect is neither mysterious, sexy, nor perhaps most importantly, musical) secondly, the uncreative repeated citation of song title acting as a chorus. Honestly, lets spend some time in the brainstorm room.
There are no standout tracks. There is no outstanding musicianship. The creative incompetence lies in her accompaniment. Emily Haines' is able to counter this unoriginality with the unique texture and versatility within of her voice. She is an effectively entertaining lead vocalist with an unmistakably punk-rock attitude. What she has to say will certainly be taken more seriously if she returns riding a better-designed musical vehicle
1.5/4
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