Well, once again it appears the concept album is alive and well in 2009. Today, we received yet another press release announcing a record that will feature quite the hefty concept, this time coming from the avant-rock minds of the Paper Chase. Dubbed Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1), the Dallas band's fifth full-length will apparently mark the first instalment in what will be a two-part natural-disaster-themed concept piece, which the PR tells us will "explore the existential crisis inherent within a universe seemingly fated to exterminate its population" (aka serious shit).
In true concept album fashion, band leader John Congleton (who's also the production wiz behind Modest Mouse, Black Mountain and the Polyphonic Spree) named each album track after a different natural disaster and created a series of fictional characters to go along with the record. Apparently, each is repeatedly forced to face Mother Nature's wrath and do their best to survive in a world plagued by forest fires, lighting, blizzards and mass hysteria.
In many ways, it sounds strikingly similar to the concept album hell that was Godley & Creme's 1977 flop, Consequences, an over-the-top triple-LP about nature taking its revenge on mankind via natural disaster. The record was basically panned by any critic unfortunate enough to hear it, and to this day stands as one of the best examples of concept album excess. For the Paper Chase's sake, though, hopefully their record will fare a little better.
Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1) is due out on May 26 via Kill Rock Stars, with Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 2) slated for a 2010 release. Here are the tracks:
1. "If Nobody Moves Nobody Will Get Hurt (The Extinction)"
2. "I'm Going To Heaven With Or Without You (The Forest Fire)"
3. "The Common Cold (The Epidemic)"
4. "The Laying Of Hands The Speaking In Tongues (The Mass Hysteria)"
5. "Your Money Or Your Life (The Comet)"
6. "What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning)"
7. "This Is A Rape (The Flood)"
8. "The Small Of Your Back The Nape Of Your Neck (The Blizzard)"
9. "This Is Only A Test (The Tornado)"
10. "We Have Ways To Make You Talk (The Human Condition)"
In true concept album fashion, band leader John Congleton (who's also the production wiz behind Modest Mouse, Black Mountain and the Polyphonic Spree) named each album track after a different natural disaster and created a series of fictional characters to go along with the record. Apparently, each is repeatedly forced to face Mother Nature's wrath and do their best to survive in a world plagued by forest fires, lighting, blizzards and mass hysteria.
In many ways, it sounds strikingly similar to the concept album hell that was Godley & Creme's 1977 flop, Consequences, an over-the-top triple-LP about nature taking its revenge on mankind via natural disaster. The record was basically panned by any critic unfortunate enough to hear it, and to this day stands as one of the best examples of concept album excess. For the Paper Chase's sake, though, hopefully their record will fare a little better.
Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1) is due out on May 26 via Kill Rock Stars, with Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 2) slated for a 2010 release. Here are the tracks:
1. "If Nobody Moves Nobody Will Get Hurt (The Extinction)"
2. "I'm Going To Heaven With Or Without You (The Forest Fire)"
3. "The Common Cold (The Epidemic)"
4. "The Laying Of Hands The Speaking In Tongues (The Mass Hysteria)"
5. "Your Money Or Your Life (The Comet)"
6. "What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning)"
7. "This Is A Rape (The Flood)"
8. "The Small Of Your Back The Nape Of Your Neck (The Blizzard)"
9. "This Is Only A Test (The Tornado)"
10. "We Have Ways To Make You Talk (The Human Condition)"
