It was merely a few years ago that I, a young teenage boy, was sitting in my bedroom watching the Howard Stern show on E!. On this particular episode, as on every particular episode, Stern was giving away a pair of saline boobies to whichever lucky girl would humiliate herself the most. I don't remember the particulars, other than that the doctor prepared to perform the surgery was one Dr. Palumbo. At the time, I was convinced that he was possibly the grandfather or uncle of Daryl Palumbo. Perhaps it's because it wasn't far off the release of Glassjaw's spectacular Everything You Wanted to Know About Silence record, or perhaps it was because I've never left the west coast, and at the time, did not realize that everyone on Long Island's last name is Palumbo. I was a naive young buck. Like many others in their mid to late teens, fuck, like many others at my current age of 20, like many others at the age of 40, everything was immediate. The records from 2000 and 2001 were the best records of all time, who cares what those old dudes in the 60s? Perhaps my realization of how bad this kind of thinking has seeped into society with few exceptions (everyone at least says they like the Beatles, and I can't forget the Tool-loving-but-hey-Pink-Floyd-are-the-best-of-all-time kids) that made me essentially put modern rock behind me this year. Maybe it's the fact that some of my favorite modern rock bands (Glassjaw, Cave In, etc.) were putting out boring, bland, and seemingly formulaic trash (Worship/Tribute, Antenna). Or maybe it's just that 2004 has been a really shitty year.
Boy, do I love a kick in the ass. I called reviewing this record months ago, when a rough version of it first leaked, because I wanted to make sure it got panned like scrambled eggs. I would've loved nothing more than to rip into the new project from the singer of a band who disappointed me fairly heavily just two years ago, and I sure would've loved nothing more than to return to writing reviews by driving by my childhood home along Negative Place South. I ran into a key problem, though. I found myself really enjoying the record. Somewhere between Elvis Costello, Mike Patton, Prince, Jap-Pop, indie rock, and forward-thinking hip hop, Daryl and Dan can carve a new notch on their successful albums bedpost, and I can get woken up and shown that 2004 isn't as bad as I'd made it out to be.
Decadence is a risk for both parties. Dan "The Automator" Nakamura is probably the one with the most to lose, considering his work with Kool Keith, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Prince Paul, members of Blur and Cibo Matto, etc. have all been met with a large amount of acclaim, and to work with Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw (who most indie rock critics will ignorantly scoff at as "nu-metal" simply for working with Ross Robinson and who "hip hop heads" are probably entirely unfamiliar with) could be detrimental to his health. Not that Blur records are commonly placed in the sun visor CD carrier next to De La Soul and Talib Kweli, but you get my point. Frankly, Daryl Palumbo needs this. Worship/Tribute bombed with a lot of Glassjaw fans and with the sizable portion of respectable critics, and Palumbo has been catching a lot of flak simply for bands his band is associated with and their fan base, much like the pressure the Blood Brothers face from scene purists for being on tour with the Used and having a bunch of kids in Underoath shirts show up to their shows. Palumbo needs to put out a record that is going to surprise his old fans, turn his haters around 180-degrees, and catch new listeners' ears. This record accomplishes two of those three things. From everything I've read about Palumbo from random press clippings, he seems to be disassociate himself from his fan base a great deal, not wanting to be tied to his nu-metal/scene douche fan base but more of a reclusive indie rock intellectual, and while Decadence might vaguely show people he is a Gang of Four fan on tracks like "I Shot William H. Macy," what is really surprising about this record is how much of a straightforward pop record this is. From the visceral punk-funk assault of the album's opener "At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet" to the Prince like delivery on "Head Automatica Sound System" this is pure, unadulterated pop music. ATTN DOUCHEY 98% OF GLASSJAW FANS: OMG DARYL SOLD OUT. To the other 2%, you will be enthralled by this display of forward-thinking pop that could still fit in on most radio stations play lists. People who can't stand Daryl's Costello-meets-Patton-meets-Bad Brains vocals that made him such a stand out figure aren't going to like him anymore on this record. I highly doubt any people who have a vendetta against him and his former band are going to grow to love him unless they are Automator nuts, because this record plays to Automator nuts. It sounds like something you'd expect out of him, and that's why his contributions to Automatica, while they are plentiful, aren't what I feel I should be talking about. The album's true gem is its power-pop titan "Beating Heart Baby." It's probably the one track on the album that even the biggest skepticists about this record can't help but feel some affection toward. It's the only song on the record that would act as a sensible single (and is the first off the record), it is the most accessible track on a very accessible record and will play to both Glassjaw's fan base and the "never heard of Daryl Columbo or Needle Nakamura" crowd.
Decadence is a collaboration between two of the most popular forces in both the not-so-subterranean underground of music, yet has garnered very little hype or buzz. Even so, many people will rule this record out without hearing about it just based on the players alone, which will be a sad mistake, for I definitely see most people finding at least one song that touches them in that special place, assuming we're all consenting adults here. If I had a million dollars to bet, I'd put most of it in savings, but I'd bet a few dollars that Head Automatica is a one shot deal. Not that I think Automator isn't already moving on to whatever his next quirky project is, never to revisit HA, that's what he does, but I can't imagine a record like this working any better than it has, nor do I think they should try again.
