Remy Zero

Item: The Golden Hum
Author: David Martin

The Golden Hum

(2001)

Reviewed by David Martin

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Label ElektraThe Rebel Base2002

alternative rock modern rock

I just love getting recommendations from fellow reviewers who know me well enough to know when an album would be right at home in my collection. I have Josh to thank for this one. Not only did he know I'd like the band, but he knew exactly which songs would get me hooked on the band and end up being my favorites. (Hey, anything that distracts him from gushing about U2 for a few minutes has got to be worth investigating, right?)

Remy Zero (not to be confused with the falsetto-inclined Remy Shand) is one of those bands whose style you'd swear you've heard before, and yet you'd be at a loss to label them a rip-off of any one band. Perhaps if U2 had meandered into more "alternative" territory instead of their electronic phase, or if Radiohead had a little more hope in their lyrics and commitment to song structure (not that I mind them the way they are; just making a point), you'd get something similar to Remy Zero's style. I can only really describe the band as they are now, knowing relatively little of their musical or personal history. But suffice to say, they're an enigmatic modern rock act that revels in fusing the purposeful quirkiness of rock's "alternative" days with the anthemic sensibility of pop. Which is nothing that hasn't been done before - but when it's got a storyline, a sense of purpose behind it, then it's bound to catch my attention.

There's a real story behind the band, which includes the core members' Alabama upbringing, a move to California, a struggle to rise above obscurity after being lost in the shuffle of a label re-org, and even a celebrity marriage (lead singer Cinjun Tate was briefly married to Alyssa Milano, or so I've heard). But then there's the story that the band would like you to hear - the story of a missing boy after which the band is named. Their hope is that the music they create would somehow find its way back to him and convince him to return home. Or something along those mythical lines.

I would gather from their third album, The Golden Hum, that Remy Zero has a thing for veiled references and vague clues - the hint of a storyline. Wrapped in a feisty, moody stew of musical lights and darks, the album weaves together several songs that appear on the surface to deal with selfishness and heartbreak, often taking unexpected musical turns to leave the listener hanging. It may not be a mind-blowing concept album where you smack your head at the end and exclaim "Oh, now I get it!" - at least, not the first time through. But it's an enjoyable puzzle to try to put together, albeit sometimes a creepy one. The cover art alone should tell you that - a baby is being held up by a woman, her face replaced with an eerie white glow. Several other pictures of individuals, young and old, with their faces obscured by this glow, appear in place of a lyric booklet, enticing the listener to discern the lyrics for him/herself in the hopes of figuring out exactly what this "golden hum" is.

Sound interesting? It sure got me hooked. And that's not to say that the album is a perfect work of sonic art - there are a few moments where it drags, taking on more of an alternative "slacker band" attitude - but given their name, that's actually the kind of thing one might expect throughout their entire album. Whatever the musical mood, Remy Zero knows a hook when they hear it, since most of these songs will catch your attention for one reason or another, even if they can't all hold it for the entire length of the song. The guitars know when to soar, when to be gentle, and when to be distorted, and the drums know exactly when to pound as if the drummer's life depended on it, and when to hang back and let a softer rhythm carry the song. As for the vocals, Cinjun Tate is pretty darn good at expressing his emotions. Often, a tone of sorrow or sarcasm alters the meaning of what would seem to be a straightforward song. Perhaps that explains the band's desire to not print their lyrics in the CD booklet - the meaning might come across differently. Whatever the case, this has definitely been a fun album to dissect.

"The Golden Hum"

If your speakers don't have very strong bass, you're likely to hear close to nothing for the first 20 seconds or so of the CD. But fear not, the low, quiet rumble is intentional. Soon, a lone guitar chimes in, picking out a moody solo, and the instrumental title track begins to build up steam, incorporating ominous plucked strings and a creepy piano that gets louder and louder until the sonic stew finally comes to a boil and the band lets loose for a few brief bars before the whole thing suddenly evaporates, bleeding into the album's first song.

"Glorious #1"

One flash will get you anything you want

This peppy and slightly warped rocker serves as a perfect introduction to the world of Remy Zero. It's a curious composition, peppered with sinister vocals and buzzing guitars that dare you to mess with it, but all the while remaining a ridiculously catchy pop element, especially during the chorus. Before you know it, you'll be singing along to this selfish declaration that "I'm back down to the glorious #1, my prints all over the smoking gun." If you think that line's cryptic, just try dissecting the verses, which come off sounding like a subordinate plea, an attempt to keep a cruel master happy. There's a definite theme of murder surrounding this song, though it's likely a metaphorical murder. As best I can tell, this "glorious #1" seems to be a new spin on the old adage "looking out for number one", and the singer is proud that he has somehow cut the ties to a dependent party and he's fending for himself now. The song contains some killer drum fills - I'm always hooked by a band that shows an affinity for punchy percussion. You have to love the off-kilter ending that punctuates the song, capping it off with nothing but drums and a cymbal: "Thump-thump-thump-thump-TAP!"

"Out/In"

I'm falling down, my wings don't work the way that yours do

A strange whirring sound occupies the final seconds of track 2 (it really should have been a minus track, but here I go getting picky again), counting off the beat in its own odd way. This song isn't as menacing as the intro would have you believe, preferring to take on more of a medium pace, but it's got an addictive groove and warped melody that make it stand out. I kind of consider this song to be the sideways version of U2's "Elevation", if that makes any sense whatsoever. Instead of bringing you up, the presumed lover in this song just seems to yank you back and forth, constantly meandering in and out of your life. At least, that seems to be how Cinjun wants us to feel. The song seems to be inspired by the transient lifestyle of show business, and how it affects couples. Sarcasm drips from his lips like venom as he tries to assure her, "Make strong your stance, 'cause you're the best of them." In the second verse when he insists, "I'll wait, I'm fine here, I could wait", he manages to convince us of just the opposite. In some ways, the attitude and musical punch of the song are similar to Jars of Clay's "Whatever She Wants", especially the guitar solo in the middle. You can't help but feel sorry for the guy as the music drops into a lonely guitar outro and he quietly repeats the lines "One night, one flash of brilliant light/I pray you come soon", knowing full well that she won't answer that prayer.

"Bitter"

I wanted to tame you, but you never came through

Cleverly starting off with another guitar intro that isn't too dissimilar to the ending of the last song, this one takes on a more misshapen form than the songs preceding it. True to its title, this song lurks in the corner, lamenting a relationship that didn't work out, and only occasionally does it turn angry and confrontational. To these ears, it sounds like this relationship ended slowly and painfully, as evidenced in the chorus: "Just one more day when it's already been too long." I will admit that this is one point where the album drags a little, since this song gets slightly repetitive and has a similar tempo to the songs surrounding it, but it still manages to catch my attention with its enigmatic repeated line "And the sea is forming shackles to deliver", after which the music goes schizo and tries to attack the listener, before being forced to back off like a dog on a leash. At the very least, Cinjun seems to accept that his bitterness is his own fault, for wanting and expecting his ex to change, perhaps in ways that she never wanted to. But that could just be me reading personal experience into a song that means something totally different. With the exception of the aforementioned riddle that ends up being a sudden ending to the song, the meaning seems fairly straightforward to me.

"Perfect Memory"

In that moment the Earth made no sound, but you were there

In the midst of what appear to be a few songs about a breakup comes this bittersweet number, which has apparently found moderate success on the radio. Acoustic guitars pick up perfectly where "Bitter" left things unfinished, creating more of a nostalgic, anthemic atmosphere in which Cinjun conjures up the courage to say goodbye to a loved one. I had heard this song numerous times before realizing that it was written about the death of a family member - it's not obvious until the bridge, when he mentions a person being lowered into the ground. But his vow seems to be that he'll remember the good stuff and not the pain - "The things we used to do and the things that we used to say, I'll remember you that way." His memories even put a good spin on the hard times, specifically the "summers when the money was gone". There are times when this song seems to not pack as much of a punch as some of the others - which is not to say it should be as aggressive, but it does feel a bit muted. However, it wins points for its sentimental take on an obviously difficult personal loss. (There's a line about climbing towers and looking out over the town in the second verse that could be taken differently in light of September 11th, but the album was released right around then, so we can safely assume the song predates 9-11.)

"Save Me"

I feel the words unspoken inside, and they pull you under

An echoing outro tacked onto "Perfect Memory" cuts very suddenly into a somewhat jittery opening to one of the band's more popular singles - in fact, this song has made its mark as the theme song to TV's "Smallville". It's got quite an infectious groove to it, with a somewhat monotonous guitar riff and clever drum syncopation propelling the verses along, while Cinjun wails it out during the desperate chorus. The song is about wanting to be rescued, and we can tell that Cinjun doesn't exactly enjoy playing the damsel in distress. He feels helpless to save himself from whatever fate he fears, insisting that "my wings have broken in your hands" (that line actually brings back eerie memories from the movie Dogma). Beyond his whining, pathetic desperation, there seems to be a message that we can't count on another person to actually save us - though that might be my theological bias reading into things. In any case, it seems to carry a similar theme to Alanis Morissette's "Precious Illusions" for that reason. However you slice it, it's close to pure pop/rock perfection without being too predictable.

"Belong"

I prayed for change, and now you're gone

Speaking of pop/rock perfection, you can't get much better than this spacey little number. At least, if you don't mind semi-depressing songs about the past being better. I can't help but think of what Cinjun's marriage must have been like when listening to this song, even though he insists none of these songs were inspired by that (and in all fairness, all five band members contribute to the songwriting; it's just a common thing to assume it's coming from the point of view of the lead singer in bands like these). Bouncing up and down between a fairly standard G-D-C-D progression (with frequent shifts into the minor key equivalent of said chords), this song is guaranteed to get stuck in your head with its bright but melancholy lead guitar line, which zips through the song like a swarm of fireflies, and the vivid pictures it paints of happier times - "that's the way it was when we belonged together". The theme of change and how it affected the relationship adversely shows up again in this song - if you remember from "Bitter", he was upset that she didn't change, and now he's recognizing that he changed instead. (Though it seems to be about a breakup, I can actually relate to it from the perspective of being in a long-distance relationship and having to say goodbye to the person for a while, needing time to grow and change before we'll be ready to be with each other on a more long-term basis. It's hard to be apart when "anywhere with you I knew I was home". But enough about my love life.)

"Over the Rails & Hollywood High"

All the stars evolve, but the story's the same

A strange, echoing vocal intro (that later turns out to be a sample from the song's first verse) leads into a chugging guitar line and punchy drum beat that reminds me of early Radiohead. This is probably one of the less interesting songs musically, since it can't quite decide if it wants to be aggressive or sail along on a fairly easygoing melody, but then, that's just the Remy Zero recipe and you gotta love it! The song seems to be as long and meandering as its title at first, but it soon becomes clear from the drug analogies that it's about some sort of an addiction. My best guess is that it's another jab at show business and how it can kill the personal element of a relationship. I really love the line "Well, I had it bad, we were barely on the screen", and the sinister sneer in Cinjun's voice during that part. In keeping with several of the other tracks on the album, this song is tied to the next by a short instrumental, this time a duet between guitar and piano.

"Smile"

One pill, one knife, and your whole life's wasted

This one packs a solid punch when its sudden intro kicks in after the calm instrumental, but it kind of wanders off into lackadaisical "alternative" territory after that. I'll be honest, it took me a great many listens to truly appreciate this song, because its main theme appears to be suicide, and I'm obviously not an advocate of said activity. I'll grant that it's got about as ironic a title as you're ever gonna get. Looking a bit deeper into what first appears to be a typical "You dumped me and now I have no reason to live" type of song, it becomes apparent in the second verse that he disappointed her in similar ways to how she disappointed him - "All I ever got was nothing" turns into "All I ever gave you was nothing". Likewise, the threat that "You can cry if you want, I'll be hanging myself" becomes a prophecy that "you'll be hanging yourself". Basically, the selfish ex-lover has reached the end of his rope (pun intended), and he intends to use suicide as a means of psychological torture. Even creepier is his promise that "I will return as a brilliant shining light/The things I've said will all be proven right". (By the way, a little sidebar for those who think that threatening suicide is a good way to get an ex's attention: Let me assure you that I considered that once, and eventually decided it would be an immature stunt that would only cause me further psychological damage. End of sidebar.)

"I'm Not Afraid"

No one's heard this, no voice resounds

Some closure seems to arrive at last in this mostly acoustic track. While it's not one of the standouts on the album (we're really needing a pick-me-up around this point!), it's nice to have a little glimmer of hope, to see that the suicide threats were empty and that healing is possible. This song sounds to me like a quiet assertion that he's getting over her - "I'm not afraid of you at all". I don't think it's a statement of pride or anything, just a simple declaration that he isn't haunted by her memory any more and she can no longer hurt him. I like the acoustic strumming on this song, as well as the ¾ rhythm and the gentle vocal echoes in the background that lead into the album's finale.

"Impossibility"

As the Earth swung, this golden hum seemed to wash over me

A quiet wash of "aah"s in the first few seconds would lead you to believe that this is going to be your typical pensive, quiet album closer, and then BAM BAM BAM BAM bada-bada-BAM bada-bada-BAM BAM!!!!! How wrong you were, my friend! Remy Zero closes out the album in style with another delicious, percussion heavy rocker, this time carrying an infectious optimism to help us purge the downcast emotions of most of the album. Cinjun waxes philosophical and perhaps even theological on this track, proclaiming that "as the old man stands to judge us all, I believe I am reborn". It's a surprising plot twist in every way, and the guys sure know how to throw us off, ending the song rather abruptly with the declaration "As we rise above our doubts and fears, sing it loud so all may hear". Leaving us hanging on an unresolved note, the album then fades into silence.

"On and On"

'Cause I know where you want to be, and this is not that place

There is a hidden track buried a few minutes after "Impossibility", but I'm less than thrilled with it. Bookended by oceanic sounds and sirens, the song employs a soft guitar strum and a rather dull programmed rhythm as Cinjun quietly sings about something that "goes on and on and on and on and on". I'll tell you what goes on and on, it's this song, for crying out loud. Still, the lyrics are somewhat interesting, offering more commentary on stars and the overall transient state of the world. I have yet to figure out how this ties into the album's overall theme, but then again, I only have a hypothesis as to that theme.

Come to think of it, I'm willing to bet that the band members themselves only have a hypothesis as to the album's theme, because when asked directly about what exactly this confounded "Golden Hum" is, some of them have given different answers. Disregarding any "official" responses, I will now attempt to sum up what I believe this album is about given the clues I've uncovered.

I believe that "The Golden Hum" represents memory - specifically, the memories we have of people in our lives who have passed away, or who have left us behind or we've left them behind. Ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends are obviously big on this list, as are deceased family members. The eerie pictures in the album insert would seem to support this theory, as they all seem to be real people, yet they are stripped of their identity by having their faces replaced by a shining light. Some sort of a "shining light" or "glow" is mentioned in several songs on the album, such as the "flash of brilliant light" Cinjun longs to see again in the song "Out/In", or the way he promises to return to haunt his ex in "Smile". Tied to these past memories are hurts and disappointments, and sometimes we make the best of them, selectively recalling only the best about loved ones ("Perfect Memory"), or sometimes only the worst ("Bitter"). We tend to look selfishly to our current relationships to rescue us from those past memories ("Save Me"), to make those ghosts go away, but no one is adequately capable of doing that for us. Sometimes we even try to break free by cutting ourselves off from our attachments and choosing to live life serving ourselves - the "Glorious #1". But sometimes we do manage to find closure ("I'm Not Afraid"). "The golden hum" is actually mentioned in the song "Impossibility", and that song also seems to touch on the legend of the missing boy that is the band's namesake ("As far as I know, I am your son"). Perhaps the boy ran away due to being haunted by past demons and ghosts, but no one out there could heal him, and the seeming "Impossibility" is that he is able to return to his family, face down those old ghosts, and find freedom.

Or perhaps I'm just full of crap. Either way, I hope I've captured your curiosity enough to make you want to give this album a spin. The Golden Hum may have its tarnished spots, but listen to it enough times and I guarantee you'll be singing along to this odd soundtrack... or at least humming.

David's Score: 4.5/5

Josh's Score: 4.5/5