The Choir

Item: Flap Your Wings
Author: Steven S. Baldwin

Flap Your Wings

(2000)

Reviewed by Steven S. Baldwin

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Galaxy 21 MusicThe Phantom Tollbooth2000

alternative rock dream pop shoegaze

On Flap Your Wings The Choir manages to be both sparse and fuzzy at the same time--no mean feat. None of their albums have ever sounded exactly the same because the band has always tweaked their sound with each new recording. This one, their 10th to date, is no exception, forging new ground while being reminiscent of their best work. The end result is their warmest, most relaxed album to date.

Most of these tracks consist of your standard rock and roll mix of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Compared to The Choir's earlier work, there are fewer embellishments adding extra layers. Rather, a minimalist amount of extras round out the sound, including Dan Michaels' sultry sax, a splash of Hindalong's xylophones and other exotic percussions, and a bit of lap steel and mellotron flutes courtesy of Phil Madeira. Everything revolves perfectly around Hindalong's lyrics and percussion, and Daugherty's fuzzy and trippy guitar work. Rising above it all are Daugherty's crystal clear vocals in a collection of sweet songs with completely catchy, memorable melodies.

The album opener, "Flap Your Wings," sets the album's theme and tone with spacey guitar sounds and a declaration of heavenly perseverance:

When the healer of your heart
Touches your soul with holy hands
You sure should rise up
You sure should rise from the dead
When the sun shines through the branches
Lift your head
Take to the heavens
To the sky
Take to the heavens
Fly

What follows is a series of crafty songs that juxtapose Hindalong's clever, trademark imagery with the appropriate musical accompaniment. "Shiny Floor" comes closest to capturing Free Flying Soul's fuller sound. As the ballad's title suggests, "Mercy Lives Here" tells the tale of God's powerful presence in the midst of a pub's curious denizens. "Sunny," a song that encourages maintaining a God-focused attitude in the face of adversity, could have been at home on the Blade Runner soundtrack. "Cherry Bomb" is a cute ode to Hindalong's daughter that should resonate with any loving father. Continuing their tradition of excellent love songs, "I Don't Mean Any Harm" offers up a compelling chorus and just the right amount of sentiment.

The two largest highlights, however, are "Hey Gene" and "Beautiful Scandalous Night." The latter is The Choir's cover of a song they wrote for the first At the Foot of the Cross album, originally featuring Bob Bennett and Julie Miller. The Choir have made it completely their own, and end the album on a glorious moment of worthy worship to our blessed savior.

A sort of worship song of a different sort, "Hey Gene" is a bouncy tribute to The Choir's dear friend, Gene Eugene Andrusco of Adam Again and the Lost Dogs. Personally, I can think of no more fitting tribute to celebrate Eugene's transition to the heavenly kingdom:

Hey Gene, we remember you
Yeah we laugh when we think of Eugene
hey Gene, we remember you
Yeah we cry when we think of you Gene...
Give Jesus a kiss for us
Hey Gene, flap your wings, flap your wings.

With songs this bright and beautiful, heartfelt and pure, what more could you want but a few more tracks? As a whole Flap Your Wings may be the quietest and gentlest of The Choir's albums to date, but it's also a perfect direction for 2000 and a most welcome addition to their considerable canon.

5 tocks