Whereas 2000's
Domestica
explored the intense pain of
Tim Kasher
's divorce,
The Ugly Organ
is a tale of empty sex, overwrought melodrama, and metaphors of which the album's title is only the first.
Kasher
likes making you feel queasy, and
Cursive
backs him up with unpredictable instrumental turns. "Butcher the Song" could be about a lot of things, but it's definitely not happy, and its instrumentation lurches in stops and rushing starts like a drivetrain gone bad. "Art Is Hard" is much louder. "Keep turning out those hits! Till it's all the same old sh*t!" The clattering guitars shoot backward at
's louder roots, but the knifing lyrics stab wildly at fans, the band, the industry -- any target available.
and company are similarly restless throughout
, and that sentiment makes the album both rewarding and frustrating. They're capable of great beauty, particularly in the sure hand of cellist
Gretta Cohn
, who first appeared on the
Burst and Bloom
EP but is a true force here. She adds a soaring melody to "Driftwood: A Fairy Tale," making it sound like
Spoon
with a fuller lineup. ~ Johnny Loftus