Forest for the Trees
Forest for the Treesarchitect Carl Stephenson cowrote "Loser" with Beck and coproduced Mellow Gold. The best song on this debut, "Dream," is a five-minute wonder: a killer bagpipe riff, some stray sitar, a hip hop-inspired beat, and a creamy pop chorus. The lyrics are supremely silly, but it doesn't matter much; it's so shamefully infectious you can be forgiven for loving--or hating--it. Beyond "Dream,"Forest for the Treesis a heavily-stitched quilt of processed vocals, programmed drum beats, guitar that ranges from metal to flamenco, and new age mutterings that don't quite cover the skeletons posing as songs. "Infinite Cow" is a nursery rhyme masquerading as Eastern mysticism, and "Tree" has lyrics that would make Jonathan Richman cringe: "Hey, tree--won't you talk to me?/I can see you breathing." Unlike Beck's Odelay, Forest for the Trees is a musical hybrid that never quite takes. Or rather, it only succeeds completely on one song.--Keith Moerer