Andrew W.K. is the latest Renaissance man in the world of music. Like others before him, John Lennon and Henry Rollins among others, W.K.'s influence has flourished beyond the boundaries of his musical output. And while many may still see W.K. as "the party guy," his stature in the public eye is much more than that of a one-hit-wonder. He has hosted his own television show on MTV (and has plans for a new show to begin airing on public access television), given motivational speeches and hosted lectures at various locales across the U.S., organized a scavenger hunt at this past South by Southwest Music Festival, appeared on numerous TV shows as a guest, and was even cast in his first acting role in the horror-movie "Punk Rock Holocaust." I'm sure if you asked him, he'd be the wedding singer at your reception, which would be totally awesome. W.K. truly has immersed himself in the vast culture of our nation, and consumers like myself have been thankfully enjoying the fruit of his labors.
Close Calls With Brick Walls is W.K.'s third major studio effort. Unfortunately, it is only available in Japan and Korea, save for paying import costs (though a U.S. release on vinyl is planned for later this year). The album opens in a manner that one wouldn't expect form W.K. "I Came for You" is a piano-driven ballad that features W.K. playing away at the piano keys and soulfully crooning while his backing band provides atmospheric and interweaving guitars and noise effects. The song flows right into "Close Calls With Bal Harbour," which is an interlude composed of primarily swirling background effects and slightly processed vocals. Based on these two songs, you can definitely hear W.K.'s ties to the noise scene.
The pace of the album accelerates to top-speed on "Not Going to Bed." As you can tell by the title, the song is a party anthem about staying up late and not going to bed. If a six-year-old got a hold of this song, you can surely bet his parents would be ultra pissed. Musically this song could have easily fit on I Get Wet with its upbeat guitars, fun lyrics, and energetic vibe. "You Will Remember Tonight" chimes in next with a style that bridges the gap between the sound of W.K.'s two previous full-lengths. The song has simple upbeat music with huge sing-along choruses that are delivered in an operatic form. The song does feature a fairly interesting instrumental interlude, which is highlighted by both keyboard and guitar solos - yes I said keyboard solo - before ultimately ending rather abruptly.
"Pushing Drugs," continues the high-octane output of W.K. with an 80's inspired new-wave sound that reminded me of The B-52's on acid. Okay, maybe not acid, but the song has a heavier edge than most dance tracks and W.K's vocal delivery on the song gives off a slightly psychotic vibe. "Hand on the Place" and "One Brother" follow with more mixture of 80's arena rock and piano-driven rock-n-roll. This formula has always worked in his favor, so I see why he's done little to change it. On I Get Wet, W.K. declared his love of New York City, well this time around he speaks of the decadence of "Las Vegas, Nevada."
Close Calls With Brick Walls slows down with the piano interlude "Dr. Dumont." After all that fun music, it's nice to take a relaxing break to some soothing tones. That doesn't last long though as "I Want to See You Go Wild" is exactly that: a rock-ditty to go off on the dance floor to. It is the "Party Hard" of this album. The album continues on with more typical W.K., though the next few songs do tend to drag a bit. Eventually we come to "Mark My Grace," which is a rather interesting song. It's a rock-n-roll tune without the cock-rock/arena vibe that we're used to from W.K.. It's rather hard to describe as its different from W.K.'s normal output, yet still sounds like something he would have written.
"Don't Call Me Andy" is a silly little rock piece that pretty much just repeats the song title over and over. "The Background" is another song in that psychotic voice we heard earlier on "Pushing Drugs." W.K.'s voice is much deeper, but not yelled, over some powerfully galloping riffs - it sounds great. "Slam John Against the Wall" is quite worthless and I could do without it. "The Moving Room" concludes the album in a slightly subdued rock song before closing out with what sounds like W.K. leaving the recording studio.
The version of Close Calls With Brick Walls that I acquired is the Korea pressing, which contains four bonus tracks. "Can You Dance With Me?" is an energetic party-anthem about dancing, which are always good times. I would have rather had this track on the regular version that some of the filler songs. "This is My World" is a pretty slick piano-driven rock ballad. "I Want Your Face" sounds like it'd be a killer tune with powerful riffs, but it comes off like a Queen b-side, which isn't a bad thing, just weird for W.K. Last, but not least, is "Let's Go on a Date," a bouncy and upbeat song that I would totally put on a mixed-tape if I were still in the market for a date.
In the end, purchasing Close Calls With Brick Walls is going to boil down to just how much of a fan of Andrew W.K. you are. If you're a casual fan that enjoys his singles, but have never purchased any of his albums, I'd suggest going back and starting at the beginning. The cost of importing this can be rather pricey. However, you may be able to score it for fairly cheap on eBay. If you're a diehard W.K. fan, you've more than likely already acquired this in some manner. If you're not willing to shell out the big bucks, you can always purchase it from a digital retailer. I definitely suggest grabbing the Korean version if possible; the bonus tracks are some of the best of the album. Bottom-line, this is a solid venture, though a bit different from W.K.'s past releases. It could do with a few less filler songs and the inclusion of some of the bonus tracks to make it a bit stronger. It'll be interesting to see what W.K. has in store with his other two full-length releases he has planned, not to mention his solo piano album. I'm definitely stoked to hear more from my friend, Andrew W.K..
