Cave In has been on hiatus for a couple months now and Stephen Brodsky has decided to not sit still. Rumor has it he is working on a new solo album, there is a video being worked on for his solo stuff, and he finally got around to putting out a New Idea Society full length, a follow-up to their 2001 self-titled EP. Hey, Kid Kilowatt took eight million years, there is no reason why No Idea Society couldn't take close to four years.
What is served up on this record is ten songs of Steven Brodsky and Mike Law (Euclid) performing some very mild indie-pop with a bit of a lo-fi vibe. In other words, these two got hold of a bunch of old Brian Wilson/Beach Boys LPs, went through a quarter ounce of weed daily, and wrote this record. Not to say that is a bad thing in the least bit. As a matter of fact, I wish they'd have asked me to partake despite the fact that I do not smoke weed. (Editors Note: Law actually does not smoke weed either...)
The whole first half of this disc is audio gold. Brodsky and Law have written some of the most cohesive and pretty sounding indie-pop I've heard in some time. "Waiting for the Moment to Oblige," "The Aching Bells," and "Willing to Wait" are filled with vocal melodies that soar above the instrumentation. That same instrumentation holds a level of innocence and a slight hint of playfulness that backs the vocals perfectly. Some of these ideas were teased at a bit with Cave In's release Tides of Tomorrow with the vocal harmonies and the like. This is understandable, considering the amount of time Brodsky had been working on this record.
The direct middle of the record is my biggest peeve, though. "The Waiting" is the only song with a serious drum presence (we're talking snare, hats, kick, the whole deal) and sounds like a poor man's version of a Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks song. Luckily it is easily overlooked, as the rest of the disc is almost as good as the first half.
The second half of the disc has a couple of darker songs that actually manage to draw more from The Cure's darker records than anything else. "Storm in My Eyes" is filled with reverb and has a guitar line that sounds like it's right off of Bloodflowers. "Swimming in the Rain" follows the same sort of feel but is almost twice as long, the longest song on the disc. Clocking in at close to eight and a half minutes, I think this song shows off Brodsky's vocal talents as the best they have been in some time.
To sum it up, You Are Awake or Asleep is that really good record that you never expected to be. Sure there is a dull point or two, but overall I think Brodsky is cementing himself as more than just "that guy from Cave In." Coupled with Law, I think we can expect incredible things from the two, granted they can stay focused and not just brush it to the side, as is the case with most Cave In side projects.
