This album was generated via the latest meme to hit my Facebook Friends.

The artist is from a random Wikipedia article title, the album title is from the last few words on a random quotation, and the art is from Flickr’s recent interesting pictures.

albumcover

I decided to take it a step further and write a short review of said album.

Wentworth’s Folly

When Philip Wentworth burst onto the scene last year with the bizarrely brilliant asks for nothing, it was hard not to take notice.  Combining interesting and rarely heard instrumental arrangements with a knowledge of rock history, the entirely instrumental rock album was a breath of fresh air in today’s top 40 obsessed era.

If anything, it was too inaccessible.  Aside from the emotionally charged and very short “for diane,” none of the tracks got radio play and it felt like Wentworth would be remembered as that odd, talented artist that no one had ever heard of.

Philip Wentworth’s sophomore album has a lot going for it.  In many ways, it feels like a direct response to critics, as half the tracks on this album involve vocals, although not all of them may be considered singing, strictly speaking.  However, it gets mired down by how exceptional asks for nothing was.  There are rhythms and arrangements here that we’ve heard before.

“born to fail,” “the underground railroad,” and “booms in my head” all sound like tired rehashes of better tracks from asks for nothing.  The vocals, while stirring, start to blend together and it won’t be long before you can’t tell if you’re listening to “fascinating scism” or “the sale at macy’s.”

That’s not to say there isn’t original stuff on there.  Title track “what we think of ourselves” flows so smoothly that you’ll feel sad when it ends and it’s one of the few places where the vocals complement instead of clash with the music.

Wentworth’s crown jewel on this album, though, is clearly the gut-wrenching ten minute instrumental that closes it out.  “regarding my beheading after the battle of hexham” is better than everything else on the album put together.  If you’re thinking of buying one Wentworth track online, I heartily recommend it over my previous favorite from asks for nothing, “underwear.”

Still, unlike his first, this isn’t a groundbreaking album and with the odd choices Wentworth makes in many of his tracks, it may have the exact opposite effect than intended.  what we think of ourselves will be a must-get for current fans of his music, but it may even further alienate the general music-buying public.