Labels: No Sleep
Review by: Joe Callaghan
So, for those of you not familiar with this release, the chap from Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start set out to write and record one whole song every week, for a whole year. And this is it, spanning over 2 CD’s, 26 tracks each. It sounds interesting, exciting and exceedingly commendable, but you have to wonder who is this really aimed at? Is this a record for you and I to enjoy, or is this nothing more than a personal achievement? Let me ask you, do you want to listen to a 52 track album? Do you even have the time to? A 10 track album that I put on my iPod is only just half way through by the time I get to work. However, I’m nothing but impressed. On first thought, I’m expecting a bunch, a massive bunch, of lo-fi acoustic ditty’s, but alot of this is full band, fully rocking 3 or 4 minute tracks, very nicely recorded, well written and highly enjoyable. Yes, it is interspersed with the acoustic jams inevitably, which are kinda nice too, even if they do sound a bit Drive Thru Records for my liking. So, we never really answered the question from earlier. Personal gain, or great album? A little of both. Clearly he’s done this for his own attainment and rightly so, but the result is a collection of enjoyable songs, that take a long, long time to get all the way through. You could probably bin about 10 of the songs too, as they are fairly forgettable. But it keeps hold of my interest, as I was constantly curious what the next song would sound like. The production and sound changes dramatically for each song, and each song appears to have different participants, from gang shouts, sing alongs and a backing band. It is quite incredible if you are patient. Or even if you’re not. I’m certainly not, and this is certainly an impressive record. And to think Chinese Democracy took over a decade to see the light of day, and a record of this kind of substance took a year. Man, who even bought that record? Is it even good? I don’t even care. 52 Weeks is good. Give it a go. The effort and dedication that has gone into it alone is something to be applauded in an age when music is so disposable, standards are high and tastes are fickle. Boy’s done good.