Despite the fact that there are still two months of music ahead of us before the end of the year, I am convinced that This Beautiful Mess will be right there in my list of top albums for the year. Hailing from Holland and released on Deep Elm Records, this band casts off the clichés of emo-dom and creates a fresh new sound grounded firmly in an indie-pop sensibility.
Melodic and noisy at the same time, This Beautiful Mess has created an album focusing on the themes of sin and redemption and the struggle to live a life of faith, without being preachy or sounding like some sort of derivative CCM.
The first song on the new album, "Black Is the New Red," sets the tone for the disc right up front:
Here I am, but where are you
I'm a jar and I'm empty too
I forgot how to pray to you
Buried my treasure in the ground
Are you near, is it far?
Can I get to where you are?
And in song after song these same sentiments are expressed, sometimes in gut wrenching detail. In the slightly funky "Cacophonic," the singer cries out:
I believed in you daddy, but lately it's so hard to keep the faith.
...Can you take anymore of this, can I still be forgiven?
In "Clean" there is a revelation of the atoning work of Christ:
You went out there on your own.
You went out there to carry the weight.
And nobody here goes free.
You went to wear the crown of thorns.
To throw the first stone at yourself.
And later:
Every finger is pointing at you.
Everything is accusing you.
Everybody is needing a scapegoat.
So you got out there.
You're hit in the face.
You're spit in the face.
Now where is your God?
And where is your grace?
This album includes songs of praise (Soundtrack of My Life), and original Psalms (Sola Gratia: Only Grace). On "Advent Hymn," the band presents their adaptation of Psalm 40 that while not as anthemic as the U2 song "40," is certainly just as sweet.
Arjen Van Wijk presents the poetic lyrics in an emotionally provocative way, and combined with the music, creates a beautiful atmosphere that sounds great the first time, and grows on you with each new listen.
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2001Reviewed by Marco PovervestThis Beautiful Mess is the band previously known as Subatlantic Starfish, a band that released only a few songs on samplers from Sally Forth Records. Musically they've grown significantly since the first songs came out. Their music is dark emopop with beautiful soundscapes. There's a retrospective sound to the songs and mostly they're tranquil, relaxed. Sometimes there are postgrunge elements to…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Alex KlagesThere are many ways to spend three-quarters of an hour. I can't think of many more gripping ways, emotionally, than listening to this disc through headphones, concentrating on the textures painted on the musical canvas. This Beautiful Mess is a Dutch group which has a deep art-rock sensibility to their type of guitar-based rock. It fits in much the same vein as Radiohead and Luxury, with maybe a…Similar sounding releases
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