Album Review: Spanish Love Songs - No Joy

When people say that critics/commentators don't matter, what they're really saying is that they don't listen to those kinds of voices. They are important, though, and Spanish Love Songs is my proof of that. When "Brave Faces Everyone" came out, I had never heard of this band, but several people in the music world I pay attention to were all saying it was destined to be the best album of the year. They were insistent, and I heard it repeatedly, so I figured I owed it to myself to check it out. While I didn't go as far as they did, it made my Top Ten list, and that wouldn't have happened without them talking up the record.

Now that we're on to the next album cycle, they aren't coming into my attention as a surprise. There are some expectations attached, and that is what doomed this record from before the first time I heard it. While I didn't relate to the lyrics about drug abuse and a personal world on fire, "Brace Faces Everyone" was the sort of record imbued with so much passion I was able to find my own meaning in it. They took everything good about emo and alternative rock, and turned it into a howling catharsis.

None of that is true about this record.

"No Joy" is an apt title, because I felt no joy listening to this record. It is mired in the same loathing as the previous one, but without the powerful guitars and raging, screamed melodies. Instead, things are pared back, and given ore of an 80s sheen. The softer approach is completely wrong for this kind of music, as the band has gone from sounding pissed off at a world that has been unfair to them, to a band sitting on the couch in a Snuggie, having given up on ever feeling better.

This is a miserable record because it's an insular record. There is no sense of collective outrage like before, as these are not songs we can shout along with. We can't feel like everyone is in this together, because it's much more of a coffee-house open-mic night type of record. I'm not sure why they felt like making a record with no energy or power was a wise decision, because it highlights the shortcomings of their sound. The hooks aren't all that great when they don't have that sense of rage behind them, and the softer vocals sit in a deeply uncomfortable range for my ears. The shouting is far better than the warbling singing, which is something I'm not sure I've ever said before.

I can understand the attitude of not wanting to be pigeon-holed in a certain sound and style forever, but this is such a drastic left-turn, coming on the heels of breakout critical acclaim, that it leaves me baffled. Just when everyone seemed to love them, and they were growing by the day, they've made a record that does nothing to capitalize on that momentum. This one almost feels as if it is intentionally trying to push people away, because perhaps being darlings goes against everything the lyrics stand for. I'm not sure.

All I know is that this is a confounding record to listen to, both because it doesn't offer much appeal as a set of songs, but also because it makes me a bit angry I got my hopes up for this group. They are officially flukes in my book, until they prove otherwise. But at this point, I'm not sure if I'll be paying attention.