The thing that’s tricky with reviewing any new BTBAM record is that they throw so much at you pretty much all the time. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, far from it, but it can make it challenging to compare anything new from them against their previous albums as well as albums from other artists.
Like many, I was first introduced to BTBAM by way of Alaska. I enjoyed it enough that when they unleashed Colors in 2007, I was all over it. The leap was amazing: it felt like they threw everything they knew into the kitchen sink and blasted it out with pinpoint accuracy and precision. However, Colors, for me anyway, didn’t have staying power, and when The Great Misdirect followed, I went in a different direction.
However, Blake Richardson’s play through of their EP Parallax I: Hypersleep Dialogs helped rekindle the fire. Watching him nail those three tracks with a rare combination of dexterity, control and musicality reawakened my love of his drumming, and I would make sure to keep an eye on him, even if I didn’t love everything his band did. Well, when Parallax II: Future Sequence dropped the following year, I was sold, and I’ve been a big fan ever since.
So, in the subsequent years, through Coma Ecliptic, Automata I and II, and Colors II, I wanted to see what they would change in terms of their approach and what sort of wrinkles they’d bring to their sound. Needless to say, I was ready for them to throw a few curveballs with this new record, especially with the departure of guitarist Dusty Waring, and they throw a funky, nasty one with their first pitch. Rather than do what has become their customary slow build to set the scene for the chaos to come, they drop right in with the greasy, funky, “Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark”. Now, I’ve headbanged to many BTBAM tunes, but this was the first one I nodded my head and made a stank face to. And they stay in this funky state of mind for a while, even the more metal sections of the tune are touched by the deep pocket that Blakeand bassist Dan Briggs have created. So tasty!
Then the whiplash of second track “God Terror” hits, with its breakbeats and industrial-tinged electronics, Tommy’s ever-deepening growl further cementing the notion that this is clearly not your older brother’s BTBAM. Tommy’s synth work is great throughout the song, blending pristine piano tones with thick, grimy analog nastiness. The band keeps the intensity rolling through “Absent Thereafter”, keeping it heavy before morphing into a psycho, Texas swing section that recalls Automata II’s “Voice of Trespass”, but even more twisted. Dan Waggoner leads the way with some mighty fine chick’n pick’n.
“Pause” is a nice, atmospheric palette cleanser before revealing what’s behind “Door #3”, which goes through several twists and turns before giving way to “Mirador Uncoil”, which acts as the set up for the massive “Psychomanteum”, which is probably the most “typical BTBAM” you’re going to find on this record. That’s not a bad thing, by any stretch!
“Slow Paranoia” follows with more intensity before switching directions completely at the three minute mark, dropping into a beautiful moment of music that wouldn’t be out of place in a broadway musical. Tommy Rogers does a great job channeling his inner crooner here, fully embracing the Gershwin-esque nature of the instrumental backing track. At 4:20, things change again as the band slams the door on that momentary calm and throws you back into the storm. The final few minutes of the song crescendo into a big climax, that could be seen as the musical high point of the record.
However, title track “The Blue Nowhere” arrives and we get to witness the band fully lean into their melodic and progressive side. This may be the closest they ever get to a power ballad, but that would be short-changing its brilliance. Dan Waggoner does some sublime guitar work here, not only on his laconic, Petrucci-meets-Gilmour leads, but in the layering of acoustic and electric guitar arpeggios he puts behind those leads. I don’t know that they pull a song like this off so well twenty, or even ten years ago, but this is great stuff, cementing the fact that they are not only top-caliber musicians, but they are also becoming brilliant arrangers and orchestrators as well.
Closer “Beautifully Human” might be my personal highlight of the record. Kicking off with a simple acoustic guitar line, they build it slowly with synth swells, piano, and then a very 80’s Crimson type of arpeggiated figure that leads into a big drum explosion before dropping back down to a Haken-esque electronic bit, at which point Blake drops this beautiful fill to kick into the first verse. Blake’s drums sound phenomenal on this record, by the way, but with this drum fill being given such space in the mix at this point, it just underscores how fantastic they sound on this record. The build into the chorus is also really good. The second verse features another fantastic groove from Blake, and then the second chorus gives way to a sublime Dan Waggoner solo, which then transitions masterfully to the final chorus. The album closes with a very Frost*y bit from Tommy, as sort of a brief epilogue to wind it all up.
Overall, this is another great offering from the band. They continue to add new elements to their sound, and continue to grow as musicians and songwriters. As their palette continues to grow and expand, they manage to incorporate these new sounds and influences in interesting and original ways. I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time with this record so far, and I keep coming back and discovering new things with each listen. For me, The Blue Nowhere is definitely somewhere worth visiting!
Order the album here: https://btbam.lnk.to/TheBlueNowhere-AlbumID
Track listing:
1. Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark
2. God Terror
3. Absent Thereafter
4. Pause
5. Door #3
6. Mirador Uncoil
7. Psychomanteum
8. Slow Paranoia
9. The Blue Nowhere
10. Beautifully Human
Between the Buried and Me
Tommy Rogers (vocals/keys)
Paul Waggoner (guitars)
Dan Briggs (bass/keys)
Blake Richardson (drums)
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