There's a little bit of mental gymanstics I've got to do every time I play a new record from The Reds, Pinks & Purples. It involves almost pretending I've never heard the band before so that the new material sounds fresh. See, Glenn Donaldson has put out eight albums in six years as this band. And while his skills are considerable, there comes a point -- like with the Star Wars universe, the output of Robert Pollard, etc. -- where enough is too much. Now, having jumped ship from Slumberland Records to Fire Records a listener may approach this new record and hope for a change. Keep hoping.
What made us love Glenn Donaldson is still here -- "The World Doesn't Need Another Band" sounds like early Reds, Pinks & Purples numbers we embraced quickly; "Slow Torture of an Hourly Wage" has a title and vibe that both Morrissey and Lawrence would have killed for; and so on -- but at the same time, there's absolutely no indication that he has any interest in changing it up even a little bit. That can be read as both a compliment to his consistency and maybe a little dig at Glenn's obstinate refusal to even try to find a new way, however minor, to surprise fans, and expand the reach of his own art.
So, pretending that this is the only album from The Reds, Pinks & Purples, then The Past is a Garden I Never Fed is fine indeed, lugubriously-overdone title aside. There's real energy in the noisy "You're Never Safe from Yourself", and an almost Superchunk-like spark to "My Toxic Friend", a real charmer here. Those are two examples and, as anyone even a little familiar with Donaldson's output is well aware, the best Reds, Pinks & Purples songs are ones which sound like they were tailor-made to be pulled off the album proper and plopped down in the middle of the ultimate indie mix-tape/playlist. There's a lot of those here. And where The Past is a Garden I Never Fed works best is in the places where Glenn sounds like he's about to cut loose, and his guitar gets a little squally. In those moments, there's a hint of real forward movement here, or at least lateral movement from one clearly-defined space in the indie universe to another. Glenn Donaldson's command of his own skills remains considerable, and this new album, while not a huge leap forward, is neither any steps back.
The Past is a Garden I Never Fed by The Reds, Pinks & Purples is out this week via Fire Records.
[Photo: Glenn Donaldson]