Like a summer Hollywood smash with a handful of big names or an NFL Pro Bowl team, a musical "supergroup" often will fall under the weight of its own celebrity and what each member is known for.
The players try to mesh for a brief period of time, but usually the end result simply doesn't come off like a team. Basically, the forest is non-existent through the trees.
It should come as no surprise to anyone with an ear for Canadian indie-rock that Dan Bejar (Destroyer, The New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), the three members of occasional Canadian trio Swan Lake, might have a bit of an issue melding their radically different voices and songwriting styles on their new album, Enemy Mine.
In fact, they've already failed at facing that issue -- their 2006 debut, Beast Moans, was a disappointing mess of overlapping vocals, muddy synths and not a hint of direction. Besides "All Fires" and "Are You Swimming In Her Pools?" the album came off to many fans and critics as a failed experiment, which makes you wonder why they decided to go at it again.
The harmonies may be some of the most unsettling since the late '80s when Dylan teamed up with Petty, Orbison and Lynne for The Traveling Wilburys (a supergroup who skillfully swam through that decade's production and washed-up egos). Though it's probable that was part of whatever strange point they were trying to make with this group. Maybe name-related irony -- who knows?
The band gets off to an auspicious start on Enemy Mine with "Spanish Gold, 2044." An intoxicated, plodding rhythm gives way to Mercer imitating Bejar vocally while Krug howls in the background. When the song erupts into a dirty guitar buzz that recalls Wolf Parade's heaviest moments, it's already clear the band cares more this time.
Alas, not too much more. While the album's first half shows some promise, one wonders if the two better-known members were sleeping when they handed the keys to Mercer on the headache-inducing "Peace" and "Warlock Psychologist." Past the opening track, his on-and-off Bowie vocal schtick is exhausting and a pretty rotten companion to the musical accompaniment presented.
On the lyrical front, it's not much of a shocker that in "Heartswarm" Bejar walks away with the album's best line, the typically cryptic punchline-without-a-joke verse opener that he's excelled at his entire career: "Do my eyes deceive me or is it truly springtime in Paris for that piece of s***?". It means less than nothing, but he certainly can turn a phrase.
That song, along with "Battle of a Swan Lake, or, Daniel's Song," finds Bejar more subdued and focused than on Destroyer albums past (which may excite or disappoint fans of the bearded recluse, depending on their view). There is no overblown "Shooting Rockets"-esque song of his here.
The production here hasn't improved much since Beast Moans, which leaves the listener questioning why Bejar and Krug have sounded so good on recent Wolf Parade and Destroyer albums. Whether there's a limited budget/timeframe involved or they were just aiming for a gritty sound is up in the air, but it's uncalled for.
The keyboard settings, such as in the intro to Krug's "Settle On Your Skin," teeter between cheap/irritating and dull/harmless, which is not quite the balance one should be looking for in a synth sound. Some sections force you to reach for the volume knob to hear a certain riff before crashing overblown, distorted vocals in your ear a second later.
With "supergroups," expectations become so lofty it's almost impossible to please, and the main problem becomes making the songs sound like a new force -- not just writing in a proven style with different musicians and harmonies. Even the best of the bunch -- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young -- couldn't master this ("Ohio" was a Neil Young song, face it).
But despite refusing to drastically alter or moderate their voices, the members of Swan Lake did successfully come up with their own, relatively unique style -- it's just a discombobulating one that leaves you feeling a bit queasy and unlikely to dip back into.
Grade: C+
Download: "Spanish Gold, 2044," "Heartswarm"
