The Polyphonic Spree -The Beginning StagesOf...

Thu 6th Oct, 2005 in Music Reviews

On paper, The Polyphonic Spree is a downright silly idea. 20+ Texans in robes and with unhealthily happy dispositions, shaking and swaying and smiling in front of crowds largely constituting indie hipsters worldwide. The group’s leader, Tim DeLaughter, is a tanned, long-haired, perfect-teethed self-assured indie rock veteran who spouts such prophecies as “follow the day” and “it’s the sun and it makes me smile” with wide-eyed abandon as if he can’t believe his luck to be playing to the beautiful people.

DeLaughter cut his teeth with ‘90s American college rockers Tripping Daisy – possibly known to local audiences after the 1995 Triple J hit I Got A Girl. While Tripping Daisy’s first two albums Bill and I Am An Elastic Firecracker may have comfortably fallen into the “MTV alterna-rock” category (the latter album housed I Got A Girl and fellow radio single Piranha), it wasn’t until 1998’s Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb that the Spree seeds were grown. The album was a lush textured rock album and came across like a missing link between The Flaming Lips and Radiohead while being obsessed with the three same themes DeLaughter would take to the Spree with him – life, death and the sun. There was a sour taste to Tripping Daisy’s 2000 self-titled album. It was released posthumously after the death of founding member and guitarist Wes Berggrem. He was DeLaughter’s best mate, and as Tripping Daisy folded permanently to mourn, DeLaughter retreated from music.

It didn’t last long. A year later DeLaughter set about establishing the choral pop band he’d loved talking about in interviews. The band was initially a family affair with DeLaughter’s wife Julie Doyle grabbing a microphone and former Tripping Daisy cohorts Mark Pirro (bass) and Bryan Wakeland (drums) joining the already burgeoning lineup. The three remain in the band to this day. As the lineup swelled with friends and family, DeLaughter reportedly decided that the band’s collective ‘street clothes’ were too distracting and asked Doyle’s mother to manufacture a handful of robes, as the band would stand unified on stage with age, race and creed irrelevant. The band was born. Billed as The Beginning Stages of the Polyphonic Spree, the band played its first gig – a 30-minute support slot to Grandaddy – in mid-2001. Their set differed only slightly from their debut album. The 10 track album was initially recorded as a demo by DeLaughter and pals over a couple of days. A copy was released on DeLaughter and Doyle’s Good Records label and word quickly spread. And that album – essentially an extra-long demo tape – scored the Spree spots on SXSW, Glastonbury and an NME tour where the band – smack bang in the middle of the lineup – reportedly blew their tour buddies off stage every night. No easy feat when your tour pals are Interpol, The Thrills and The Datsuns.

Inevitably, a major label – in this case Hollywood Records – threw wads of cash at the band. The Beginning Stages was re-released and 2004’s Together We’re Heavy offered crisper production, bigger singles, new brightly coloured robes and arguably more ideas. But when the Spree broke in 2001/2002 the world was in the midst of Vines/Strokes/White Stripes madness. Dishevelled hair, leather jackets and angst was the go but somehow the Spree put a smile on the face of many.

Live, album opener Have A Day is a grand lush affair but it is much more refined on record. Over a stark piano beat, DeLaughter croons “have a day / celebrate / soon you’ll find your answer.” One by one instruments kick in as DeLaughter – and later on the choir – repeatedly urge the listener to “have a day.” What does it mean? Who knows. But it’s only a taste of what’s to come. Live favourite It’s The Sun appears in original form (the album re-release includes a glossy reworking of the track with a quickened tempo) and it remains truly stunning. A cacophony of brass, harps and keys almost drown out a muffled DeLaughter vocal of “take some time / get away / suicide is a shame.” Suddenly the gloomy optimism evaporates, the tempo quickens, the choir get excited and suddenly it’s “hey! It’s the sun! And it makes me smile!” This ain’t Pet Sounds, it’s not The Flaming Lips. What it is is the musical equivalent of that precise moment when you’re driving in the rain and suddenly the clouds part, the sunshine rays beam down upon you and you remember that life is wonderful.

The album’s other signature tracks still stand tall. While the original Soldier Girl lacks the snotty-edged aggression of the re-record and the live version, it remains one of the Spree’s finest tracks. It’s introduced by a flute, ferchristsakes, and swirling keyboards never allow themselves to be overwhelmed by the choir’s male/female harmonies. “I found my soldier girl,” sings DeLaughter. “She’s so far away / She makes me head spin around.” The choir excitedly scream it back several times over a catchy riff. It’s pop perfection.

Hanging Around The Day is so good it comes in parts. Part 1 is the musical introduction to the single and it’s enough of an ample accompaniment to warrant separate tracklisting. Part 2 is the track that broke the Spree in Europe – still their biggest market – and it’s not hard to see why. “The trees are getting harder to climb / life is such a wonderful slide,” DeLaughter rhymes. Four years after it was first released, the choir’s crescendo is “God only knows what you’re missing” still gives me goosebumps.

While some may struggle to digest the Spree’s more epic moments – and Together We’re Heavy has several – Hanging Around is everything good about the Spree condensed into two and a half minutes. As is Light and Day. The guitar intro just begs for handclapping and arm waving. DeLaughter and a lone female choir voice urge you to “follow the sun” (a recurring theme throughout the Spree’s catalogue) before everything kicks in. The song’s true worth is fully realised hearing it through headphones – keyboards, trumpets and vocal lines come from all angles. A quick glance at the filmclip proves that the Spree mean it. Huge grins (none as huge as DeLaughter’s) and excited exuberance to this degree cannot be faked. Camera pans to the crowd demonstrate that it’s contagious (yes, that was me crying during their set at the Big Day Out, sorry).

There are a few more surprises. Call Your Mother is a jaunty yet sleazy brass romp – the theme to a lost cop drama, if you will – with catchy “la la la”s from the choir and high-pitched and near frantic DeLaughter vocal deliveries. Middle Of The Day is a lazy two minute pop song consisting primarily of DeLaughter and a lone trumpet. “In the middle of the afternoon, you can come around and fly, fly, fly” he promises, sounding slightly dejected. The superb Days Like This Keep Me Warm is a classic pop song in every sense and a highlight of any Spree live show.

Just steer clear of closing track A Long Day (coincidentally, Together We’re Heavy’s opener is called A Long Day Continues – oh, those crazy Spree kids!). 36 minutes of spaced out electronica with DeLaughter’s voice samples and transformed beyond recognition.

Yes, Together We’re Heavy is a stronger album. Singles Hold Me Now and Two Thousand Places remain two of the finest singles of 2004, while the Spree’s crazy grand plan of being one of the most bombastic bands of all time truly came to fruition. But for sheer originality The Beginning Stages Of The Polyphonic Spree cannot be surpassed.