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geez, i love suffering and the hideous thieves...great review
Suffering & The Hideous Thieves
RATS IN HEAVEN
The only thing more exhausting than listening to Rats in Heaven is trying in vain to classify it in the context of other music. The broad range of instruments used, from standards like guitars and drums to the ones collecting dust in a storage shed (Irish flute and penny whistle!), doesn’t even come close to the range of lyrical content. Singer Jeff Suffering is the indie version of Counting Crows front man Adam Duritz, painting pictures with exquisite storytelling and vocals that bleed with emotion. But with that explained, the real question is not whether the band is talented (and they are), but simply, “Are the songs enjoyable?” To the casual listener, probably not. While some sound like drunken bar anthems from the 1800s (“There is a Fountain Filled With Blood”), others are just mentally taxing. “Souvenir” is over 9 minutes long, and the version of “Amazing Grace” that ends the collection is 11-plus minutes! It takes an extremely open mind to recognize the unorthodox genius in this album. There is not one track that is fast-paced, and listening to it while driving is the equivalent of driving drunk. It is simply entrancing, haunting, creepy, terrible and beautiful. Confused yet? Try listening to it. It will be the most interesting 57 minutes of your day. [LUJO] JAMES WETZ
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