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Absentstar
Sea Trials
(Canvasback/Columbia)
First Appeared in The Music Box, April 2008, Volume 15, #4
Written by John Metzger
Thu April 17, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
There’s a reason why nearly all of the projects upon which Dan Wilson has
worked inevitably exude the same auras, moods, and feelings. Although Wilson
isn’t necessarily a heavy-handed producer like Daniel Lanois, he does have a
tendency to gravitate toward artists who make music very much like his own.
Whether it’s his solo debut Free Life, his outings with Semisonic, the
songs he contributed to the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way, or the
production flourishes he added to Mike Doughty’s Haughty Melodic and
Golden Delcious, his pursuits largely have been shaded with exactly the same
colors and textures. Therefore, Wilson desperately was in need of a jolt that
would push him beyond his increasingly insular safety zone. Perhaps this is the
reason that he was attracted to the Chicago-based outfit Absentstar, though
Sea Trials, the resulting endeavor, doesn’t really move Wilson into new
terrain as much as it allows him to take another shot at revisiting his output
with Semisonic.
Although the band officially was established in 2005, Absentstar’s roots
actually date back to 1999 when front man Derek Ingersoll, drummer Heath
Hamilton, and guitarist Andy Dixon departed from their Indiana home with the
hope of making a splash within the music industry. Slowly but surely, their
gamble paid off. Cementing their line-up with the addition of bass player Noel
Arnim and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Hanbury, Jr., the ensemble stormed
through its performance at SXSW, earning a great deal of attention in the
process. It subsequently achieved a level of momentum that has been unstoppable
because, like Wilson, Absentstar has an uncanny knack for positioning its
material for mainstream consumption.
Although there are similarities to Wilson’s work with Semisonic and Trip
Shakespeare, Absentstar’s approach also is more aggressive and raucous. As a
result, its sophomore effort Sea Trials initially doesn’t sound like the
sort of project that Wilson ordinarily would produce. For starters, it’s loud,
boisterous, and overflowing with angst. Even during the set’s softer passages,
it frequently feels as if the band resisted Wilson’s urge to smooth its rougher
edges. The electric guitars writhe, buzz, and scream through Everyone You
Know, while For God Sakes is a pure adrenaline rush, albeit one that
suffers from being a tad too radio-ready. At times, Ingersoll allows his voice
to drift dreamily over ambient effects (Don’t Lock Me Out), which gives
the appearance that he’s trying to be a Thom Yorke impressionist. At other
moments, his anxieties get the best of him, and his vocals inevitably adopt the
unfortunate overtones of a heavy metal singer (Give in to Me). Strangely,
though, the more that Sea Trials is heard, the more it begins to sound
like an outing by Semisonic.
For the most part, Wilson is kept in check. He doesn’t temper the
forcefulness of Absentstar’s attack; instead, he merely helps the group to
tighten up and highlight its melodies. As always, he succumbs to his instincts
and spices Sea Trials with dollops of Beatle-esque flavor. Yet, the Fab
Four’s presence isn’t nearly as blatant as it has been on a lot of his projects.
The problem with Sea Trials, however, is that — save for Quietly
Conceited, All Is Forgotten, and, perhaps, If What You Mean Is
Harm — Wilson and Absentstar never seem to find the right balance between
their desired outcomes. Even if they had, though, it’s not clear that Sea
Trials would have fared much better because sometimes an uncomfortable
mixture is better than a perfect blend.  ½
Sea Trials is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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