Sunny Day Real Estate was a great band. No one contends with this or argues with this. They fell into that elite category of bands that not only managed to shape one particular sound, but an entire genre of music. Their greatness is further embellished and heightened by the fact that they released a terrible record which doesn't detract from the brilliance of their other works in the least bit. This bad record, The Rising Tide, was the foundation of the Fire Theft. And this record, while not as bad as that previous misstep, falls into a larger category of bad, simply because it's so fucking boring, bland, and monotonous that its presence is more of an annoyance at what once was as opposed to a reminder of greatness past. Having a same-soundy record is not bad. Hell, all your songs can sound the same and it's rarely a problem. At the Drive-In did it, Jawbox did it, even Cursive to a certain extent, and all of them released modern classics of our time. But without energy, excitement, and passion infused in the playing, you might as well record dead air. The whole thing isn't all that bad. Two songs are memorable to me, "It's Over" and "Sinatra." The former's melody and sheer desperation contrast with the latter's soul-searching and confidence. Everything else might as well be one long, drawn out segue. And I tried. I really did. I tried to love it. I saw the musicians on it and what they'd done, I'd read through the, umm, "questionable" lyrics and thrown them off as indulgance or indiscretion, but I can't shake the fact that this record should be so much better based on the names of the performers and the quality that everyone knows they're capable of crafting, but to no avail. No amount of my trying or hoping or wishing will make this record good. And so, with a heavy heart, I declare this the most disappointing record of 2003. Maybe next time they'll get it right, but I wouldn't count on it.
