It's a bit hard to believe so much time has passed, but soon will be the tenth anniversary of the release of Tonic's self-titled album. Considering that Tonic is my favorite band, and have been since the release of "Sugar" in 1999, that album was a big deal for me. Eight years had passed since "Head On Straight", and I had been reduced to thinking there would never be a fourth record. Sensing the end of your favorite band is not an easy thought for any music fan, let alone when that band hadn't given you a large catalog of music to hold dear when they were gone.
I didn't have to keep that thought in my head for too long after it dawned on me, as Tonic regrouped for their fourth album to be released in the summer of 2010. I remember the day I found the page on their label's site, complete with a player in the corner containing samples of every track. The record was still in the offing, and yet I was going to be given a sneak peak. What could be better?
When the record did finally arrive, I was both pleased and disappointed. It did not follow the direction of any of their previous records, but it did serve as a summation of everything Tonic had been up to that point. It was also their most streamlined and concise record, which continued the shift they had been making all along in their songwriting. I didn't see it that way at the time, but I have come to realize the evolutionary shift as a natural state of affairs.
Over time, that record has become as much a favorite as any of their others. Tonic remains my favorite band, and that self-titled album is loved just as much as their others, because they all form a tapestry that tells their story. It wouldn't be complete without all of them. And whether it's the perfect blend of acoustic and electric guitars in "Release Me", the angular riffs of "Bigger Than Both", or the powerfully simple melodies of songs like "Resolve", the record is chock full of great songs.
And now that I'm looking back at a decade spent with the record, I'm left with a rather uncomfortable question; do I want another one?
In the ten years since, there have been rumors and talk about Tonic working on new music, whether that takes the form of an album or not, but nothing has come to pass. A decade has elapsed without a single note of new Tonic music, and much like in the gap before the release of the self-titled record, I have come to terms with the idea that Tonic is never going to release another record. This, even as they still make the summer touring circuit, and play on music cruises. They seem happy not making music, so I'm left wondering if I'm happy with the same.
Of course I want there to be another Tonic record. It would be foolish to say I don't want more from my favorite band, wouldn't it? I don't think so. If you asked me this five years ago, of course I would want the next record. If you asked me three years ago, I probably would have said the same thing. But today, I'm not so sure. Enough time has passed that I'm not the same person I was when the last record came out, and neither are the members of the band. They have all grown older, their lives have gone in new directions. Does the music they would make today speak to me the same way it did then? Have we grown apart in the meantime?
It's not entirely a fair comparison, but these questions come to mind when I think about Emerson Hart's solo career. His record "32 Thousand Days" is very much a record dictated by his place in life, and while I appreciate it and enjoy it, Tonic it is not. I am in a very different place in my life than he is, and I'm not sure songs he writes now would have the same ability to connect with me. I don't see the world through the lens of a man approaching fifty, one trying to make a world for his daughter. That perspective would come through the music, even if he's trying to write Tonic songs and not Emerson Hart songs, otherwise they wouldn't be honest songs. I don't think he would try to play the part of Tonic.
We have to run risk assessment. Is it better to have the four records we do, and remember Tonic for their greatness, or take the risk of a fifth album not living up to those standards because of the flow of life? Look, I'm not discounting that it could be another great record that only adds to their legacy. That's what I'm hoping for, but I'm not holding out blind faith. Every year that has passed increases the chances of disappointment, and I would be foolish to ignore that reality.
So where do I come down on this? I'm not sure. As painful as it sounds to say I don't want my favorite band to make more music, I can see a lot of merit to it. But I'm also selfish, and I always want more. I suppose all of these words are a way for me to say I'm content whichever way things turn out.
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