November 07, 2002

Cinerama "Torino"

If David Gedge were my son, what would I say to him about women? Based upon Cinerama's (and, hell, the Wedding Present's) track record, I'd say one thing: AVOID THEM. He's had nothing but problems, or at least it would seem. He's a bit dreamy about his romance, (witness the wonderful "Your Charms") but, for the most part, his dreams aren't anything that come true. I don't know if it's particularly wise to stick to a theme that's proven successful in the past. After all, growth often means expanding your worldview.

Romantic problems are Gedge's specialty, and Cinerama's made a career off of love gone wrong, and while such probelms of the heart aren't pleasant to experience, Gedge tells some interesting combat stories from the battle of the sexes. Mixing these tunes with a small chamber orchestra backing and some pretty crunchy guitar parts, Cinerama's music grows greater with every tear and heartbreak. Could it be that one woman wronged him? He seems to come back to certain themes: deception, cheating, and dishonesty, and, well...it just appears that the man's obsessive about his pain. "And When She Was Bad," the lead track off of Cinerama's new album, finds that her cheatin' heart is still at it.

The cover of Torino shows the propeller of an airplane mid-air, and that ties in quite well with Cinerama circa 2002. They're a band flying comfortably at autopilot; you're not going to find any particularly new ideas or themes or sounds. When you're already a master when it comes to writing pop-songs, sometimes consistency of product is the greatest achievement. Normally you should take to task a band that hasn't really changed its style, but when you make music as awesome as Cinerama, then you don't have to change anything.

--Joseph Kyle

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