Tin cans with strings to my ears

Album Review: “Tin Cans With Strings To You” - Far (1996)

I decided some time ago I had listened to all the 90s alternative rock albums that were worth listening to and abandoned the genre almost entirely. Perhaps good, original 90s alt-rock music is like love; you find it when you stop looking for it. Well, I had certainly stopped looking for it, and it certainly found me.

It found me in the most unlikely place—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season one, episode six, “The Pack.” This episode features the song “Job’s Eyes” by a band called Far. The song grabbed my attention immediately, with the twinkly guitar riff in the beginning, followed by crushing waves of power chords, only to be punctuated with a series of chords that threaten the heaviness to follow. The hearty thump of the bass is reminiscent of the alternative metal band, Helmet, and their equally notable and hard to ignore basslines.

The style of bass, in adjunction to the layered guitars, reads as a skilled bassist who possesses the wisdom to hold back when it’s called for. The song picks up again before the vocals come in. The first portion of the song feels like a breath waiting to be exhaled, and the vocals are a big part of this quality. They don’t come in quite like the instrumental – heavy and threatening; they’re thin, restrained, bordering on whiny, but not in the way that becomes grating. They build into full-bodied, unrestrained shouts, and finally, into screaming characteristic of hardcore. After the initial build up and release, the vocals and instrumentals level out and reflect one another; there’s no longer a separation between the two, simply different layers of the same piece of music.

The song builds up to the recurring crescendos in a way that feels natural, not forced or out of place, as some breakdowns can. The crushing riffs eventually meld and muddle into a single bodied, rushing-water-like sound with a tasteful amount of overdrive and guitar effects. It fades out in a way that feels conclusive and not like a band that doesn’t know how to end a song.

Usually when a song has this sort of hold on me, I’m disappointed by the rest of album because it’s unable to hold my attention or surprise me like the song that initially drew me in. However,I’m glad to say that this album surprised me. Track one, “What I’ve Wanted To Say,” begins with thin, squealing feedback that instantly drew me in. It wasn’t feedback for feedback’s sake; it’s uneasy, grinding and sets the tone for the rest of the album. What follows is more layered guitars, unapologetic bass playing and juxtaposing vocals.

It’s a solid and energetic start to an album, one that makes sense and doesn’t mislead or let down. The following two tracks, “Love, American Style” and “In The Aisle, Yelling,” are harder, faster, heavier and a welcome buffer between the reticent, harmonic, delicate song, “Girl.” These two tracks surprised me, after my assumption of what the album would offer.

The album comes into its own and reminds the listener that this is indeed, a 90s alternative rock album, airing on the side of Jawbox and Failure rather than Seven Mary Three or Pearl Jam. The band’s undeniable post-hardcore sound rears its head after “Job’s Eyes.” There are more consistent, alternating melodies and radio-friendly vocals.

This mellowing out is not boring, however. It’s not just another album that loses steam midway through or only emphasizes focus on a number of songs and half-hearted the rest of the album. While the overall sound and techniques used on the album might sound mismatched or disjointed on paper, the album is nothing if not cohesive and full circle.

It’s the mark of a band who had underground success, knew their audience and were not pressured to make charting radio hits, so every song is a solid demonstration of artistry and skill.

Because this album does so much sonically, I think it can pique the interest of numerous tastes. This album is layered and heavy enough to hold the interest of someone who almost solely listens to heavy metal and various sub genres of extreme metal. At the same time, it has the influence and background to appeal the those into post-hardcore and first/second wave emo music. And acknowledging the context of when it came out, it suits those with proclivities towards 90s alternative rock and metal.

This album reflects everything I look for and enjoy from obscure bands and albums: solid performance, honest production, consistent quality, and a sense of novelty. This album doesn’t leave me wanting for anything. It’s not overindulgent, nor is it sparse; it’s perfectly satiating, leaving the listener wanting more.