Paul McCartney takes a psychedelic headphone trip
Paul McCartney needs to decide if he wants to sell a lot of records or if he wants to be taken seriously again. Last year’s Memory Almost Full, released on Starbucks’ Hear Music imprint, netted him his highest sales in 25 years while taking an artistic step backwards from the subtle majesty of 2005’s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. The songs were good, but the production severely underestimated the listener’s willingness to explore. That’s why McCartney’s third collaboration with uber-producer Youth is such a pleasant surprise. He’s letting random muses guide him and doesn’t seem to give a damn what the masses might think. The first two tracks are fiery and weird—full of the joy for exploration that fueled his most famous band to uncharted heights of artistic expression. The rest of the album rests in a new-age dance groove that finds grace among church bells, barking dogs, sea shanties and pulsating strings—a musical odyssey, by turns menacing and melodic. When taken alongside recent successes like Chaos and Creation and his stunning orchestral piece Ece Cor Meum, Electric Arguments hints that a late period renaissance could be underway.
Listen to songs from The Fireman’s Electric Arguments on the band’s MySpace page.