For The World is Bright and Lonely, New Idea Society's Mike Law walks a fine line between poetry and prose. The lyrical structures are simple and for the most part unchanging, and there is a more simple pattern within it all, almost every line the start of a new thought or idea. But herein lies the genius and creativity that is Mike Law. The lines drop onto the page like a Rorschach inkblot, open to interpretation but still terribly obvious at times. The World is Bright and Lonely is the work of a group of musicians, Law at the forefront, who recorded an album live in studio without overdub, because "that is what music sounds like." It's the work of a man that is absolutely captivating to watch perform live, solo or backed by full band, to a room of no more than thirty people. The World is Bright and Lonely is an opposite on itself, implying we are inherently alone but hopeful of something better. It's an appropriate title, as The World is Bright and Lonely is suffocating in its simplicity and comforting in its complexities.
Law simply doesn't stop in the album's opener, "Press Reverse." As bells twinkle in an epic war against droning instrumentals, Law barely takes a breath, changing his tone more than inhaling oxygen. His lyrical persona is no better seen in the song, as Law sings, cryptically and with clarity:
Your eloquence speaks so slow that it talks itself hoarse / and the delivery, it has been brought, and it's truer than you ever thought / you must know that there is no other way that could ever make these ramblers stay.
A few songs later, "Don't Sleep" opens up like a typical One AM Radio song, leading to an upbeat song that is reminiscent of something The Postal Service would do if they used more conventional instruments. Law's voice is noticeably filled with joy and happiness, the top of the roller coaster range of emotions that is The World is Bright and Lonely. "Drawbridge Kid" comes in next, arguably New Idea Society's best offering. Featuring the same steady drum kicks and rolls throughout, bells, ambient bass and guest guitar work by Kurt Ballou, and Law back to his rambling best. Law's images are macabre, "Everything he looks after meets with disaster, and his teeth are just useless details," and as the song goes on he realizes what he is really up against, and asks, "Is there any way to draw the drapes to keep out all of the despair?"
The album stays on the same track as it progresses, polarizing itself and then somehow finding a middle ground as it goes on. The viola in "The Only Sound" complements Law perfectly as he desperately and depressingly sings of winter's arrival and the absence of love. "Dress Shirt" is one of the most straightforward songs on The World is Bright and Lonely, as Law borrows a dress shirt that sets off a series of uncomfortable and painful events, with Law forcefully singing, "I would never wear that shirt again, I hope it falls apart at every thread!"
The longest song on the album clocks in at eight minutes, and features Law's warbling voice and the simple backing of a banjo comparable to a more polished Conor Oberst, as Law grudgingly sings the album's title numerous times. The final song on The World is Bright and Lonely is "Compass," featuring music that sounds like it was finally released from one of Bob Dylan's studio sessions.
Comparisons to other musical acts aside, New Idea Society has created their own identity that ambushes you with their talent, and Mike Law and his musical ensemble have proven their abilities to create an album that shows the cohesiveness and power of opposing ideas and emotions.
