Attention Trip Shakespeare fans - listen up! One half of the guys behind the quirky pop and dreamy rock ballads that characterized this classic band are back. Dan Wilson and his buddy John Munson have risen from the ashes of the doomed band to form Semisonic along with newcomer Jake Slichter. Semisonic features the same line-up that toured the past few years as Pleasure; an old funk band of the same name forced the change.
Regardless of the band's name, Great Divide is another in a long line of masterpieces from Wilson. As the half of the Matt Wilson/Dan Wilson force behind Trip Shakespeare, these Minnesotan brothers built a base of songs that focused exclusively on the joys and sorrows of love and life. Their ability to capture scenes in truly original ways set their themes apart from your average song of life. Stuff like "Boy sells bomb-pops off a bike to win the girl" or "Boy asks girl to look at the moon so she won't see him cry" stuck out at once as sad, funny, and ultimately real. Likewise, what set the music apart was the band's free-form percussion, bubbling bass line, and their trademark falsetto harmonies.
Dan's songs are the same old Trip Shakespeare fare. They aren't quite as goofy as his brother Matt's, but they still paint their pictures vividly. Each song is about love or desperation or both. "F.N.T." sets the tone for the whole album with a fire engine guitar solo, volumous bass lines, and shimmering harmonies. It's a little infatuation song to a "fascinating new thing" who'll be "lovely" and "precious" even when she is "not new."
Later there's the melancholy ode to a girl called "Temptation". Wilson comments, "Somewhere in the world tonight / Two lovers are treating each other right / Somewhere else in a lonely town / One lover waits an endless hour / Driving home in the dark I say this time will be the last." In "No One Else", he muses "With a wave of your hand / I'm destroyed and Recreated / No one else can make me cry like you, you, love / You're the only one / Who did everything right." The bittersweet sentiment riding through each song cuts through the glamour of the hopeless romantics and the hopeless pessimists. In Wilson's world, each cloud has a silver lining and every silver lining has its cloud.
Musically, Great Divide is a slight shift from Trip Shakespeare. Semisonic blends some of the themes from the old band into its mix and covers a lot of new ground. "Falling," "In Another Life," and "Temptation" could have been Trip Shakespeare outtakes. "No One Else" and "I'll Feel For You" are both slow, spacey songs that have a lot of "effect washes and static hum" added to them.
But the strong suit of Semisonic is the hard edged pop song. Songs like "Down in Flames" and "F.N.T." draw vague comparisons to bands like Weezer. They are little carefree ditties despite their sometimes depressing lyrics, and it's hard to stop yourself from grooving along to the songs. But despite the similarity, Semisonic's sound is more mature than Weezer's, and I've never really heard a three piece band quite like this. Even though they come from Minneapolis, the land of Husker Du and the Replacements, Semisonic manages to sound completely original.
Fans of the late, great Trip Shakespeare will know to run and get this album, but newcomers might be more hesitant. If you've liked what's been on the radio so far, Great Divide will not disappoint. The grooves and guitar chops will push you as far as you'd like to go. If you've never heard of Semisonic, I'd recommend taking a chance or visiting a listening station. This is smart, well-made music that won't go stale after a few listens. So find a copy, crank up the stereo, get your groove on, and enjoy!
