Robert Schneider: From the Past to the Somewhat More Recent Past
Sometimes press releases do absolute disservice to the album they are
theoretically trying to sell. The press release accompanying Expo,
the new album from former Apple in Stereo Robert Schneider's solo project
Marbles, is a perfect example of one that actually undersells its product.
In fact, the most damning quotes come from Mr. Schneider himself.
The first miscue comes when the press writer mentions the fact that
Marbles, Schneider's pre-solo career solo project, has now been retooled to
be Schneider's outlet for his hitherto unsuspected synth-pop loving side.
Now, it shouldn't be surprising to find a former member of the Elephant 6
collective jumping ahead two decades by moving on from '60s psychedelic
pastiches and into the current nostalgia craze of eighties new wave. After
all, Of Montreal has made a rather successful transition from twee psych-pop
to slick electro-rock. Still, with the Apples in Stereo, Schneider turned
his tributes to all things Beatles and Brian Wilson into pop masterpieces.
He was the consummate Revivalist. It seems odd for him to be even
acknowledging that music was still being made after, say, 1974 or so. The
fact that, here now in 2005, '80s music has become as trendy as No Limit
Texas Hold 'Em and Support The Troops magnetic ribbons, it is easy to think
that Schneider is attempting to jump on an already full bandwagon.
Schneider, in perhaps the least inspiring quote ever to grace a press
release, claims that he isn't trying to follow any sort of trend, instead he
just happened to "hear '80s music in the grocery store". Hence, Expo
is a 25-minute album conceived at the produce section, featuring a
performer who had not previously shown a hint of interest in the album's
musical genre. From the sound of the press release, this album should be a
trifling throwaway.
Luckily, Schneider is so deft with the simple pop song that Expo
is a rather charming little album. It is certainly not essential, but, then
again, neither were any Apples in Stereo albums and you're not going to find
me tossing away Her Wallpaper Reverie or The Discovery of a World
Inside the Moone any time soon. The synth-heavy instrumentation doesn't
actually change Schneider's approach very much. In fact, only the opening
"Circuits" seems to follow a new wave song structure, the rest of them sound
like Beatlesque pop tunes performed with keyboards. There's less guitar and
more beeps, but the songs themselves are sugary gems anchored by Schneider's
emotional, high pitched voice and his ability not just to create a great
hook, but his skill in placing that hook at the exact right moment. "Cruel
Sound", which lasts about a minute and a half, is a Schneider song
condensed. It features no fewer than three hooks just in the chorus: the
short, sharp repetition of "hear the people laughing", Schneider slowing
down to sing the title, and then a brief keyboard blurt. It's a shame he
did not bother to lengthen it to go with the other two certifiable classic
Schneider compositions, the longing "Out of Zone" and the blast of summer
that is "Magic" (not a Cars cover, although I wouldn't mind hearing that).
Unfortunately, two other Schneider comments do actually pinpoint
Expo's problems. "I did it all on my laptop," he says, "in the back
room of my house while sitting on the sofa and watching Cartoon Network".
There is a sense of laziness in some of the tracks, particularly the
instrumental tracks that sound like they belong on the soundtrack to some
forgotten 8-Bit Nintendo video game. (I swear that the brief title track
has to be from one of those cartridges.) Also, he mentions that he
wanted to sound "like Gary Numan crossed with ELO". When your art is based
on homage, it's always risky to name specific artists. It takes something
of a genius to explicitly borrow the sounds of other bands and rework them
into something distinctly your own. Schneider, in this case, has revealed
his hand, to the detriment of his own creativity. In this instance, my
appreciation for the childlike ode "Hello Sun" was dimmed by the knowledge
that it was basically a mash-up of "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Cars".
Expo, while clearly something of a lark, proves that Schneider is
one of the masters of the pop song no matter what the context. In fact,
Expo helps prove his critics wrong when they accuse him of being more
of a tribute artist than a performer in his own right. Taking on an
entirely new genre of music, Schneider shows that he does have his own
signature style, independent of whatever influences he decides to dabble in.
— 1 April 2005
