After a brief stint as frontman of the eclectic punk band Ima Robot and a drug problem that landed him in rehab, Alex Ebert decided to reinvent himself, Alexander Supertramp style. Popping back up with an alter ego and a ragtag band of hippie misfits, Ebert found himself quickly climbing up the folk-indie charts. With the premise of spreading love and understanding, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros gained popularity with songs of peace and communal love like “Home” and “40 Day Dream.”
Now, the band returns with a highly anticipated, much delayed third installment — it was originally meant to be released in tandem with their 2012 album, Here. Taking the listener on a sometimes whimsical, sometimes introspective romp through their 1960s-esque message of peace and love, the newest album from this band of ten will swallow you into a flower child fantasy with abandon.The record seems to go through a series of mood swings, starting with a hopeful declaration that good times are upon us in “Better Days,” dipping briefly into gospel with “Life is Hard,” skirting whimsy with “If I Were Free,” and falling into serious introspection with “Remember to Remember” and “This Life.“ This constant flow between emotions highlights the constant juxtaposition of triviality and seriousness that exists in nearly every track on the album, perhaps suggesting the duality of life and emotions.
A good example of this duality is “If I Were Free,” in which interesting instruments and wonky sound effects such as recorders, car horns, and Beatles-inspired voice distortion take center stage. The result is a playful sound, which in turn contrasts with more serious lyrics like, “If this were free / we’d be free of the terror of the grave / and fear masquerading as the brave.” This combination of whimsy and gravity characterizes Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros quite well and is the most defining factor of the album.
A bright spot of the album is the bluesy “Remember to Remember,” which showcases Jade Castrinos’s powerful voice in the same way that “Fiya Wata” did from the previous album. Somewhat more pleasing than Ebert’s often whiny falsetto, her voice is surprisingly soulful. Full of strength and raw emotion, Castrinos unleashes a gospel cry of, “Just remember this / you don’t walk alone / As the storm it rages / be not afraid.” This poignant track restates the band’s focus on communal love and support, an ideal that flows through each of their three albums.
Despite the myriad of bad reviews Edward Sharpe has already received for this album, I found it to be a nice balance between weightiness and lightheartedness and a fitting third installment for the band. Although many of the tracks in the middle of the album are admittedly forgettable, including the campy “Country Calling” and the sleepy “In the Summer,” the bookends of the album really shine. The band may be criticized by some as a hippie construct, but to me this group of ten seems to be the happiest commune of drifters on the road today.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros