Love and Other Planets - Adem

Love and Other Planets

Adem
Domino Records.

SCQ Rating: 84%

When we were properly introduced to Adem on his 2004 debut Homesongs, he was the content yet sensitive hermit, singing softly about those soft reflections and old longings one sifts through in privacy. Even when his eloquent moan was absent, Adem’s guitar and old-world instruments painted a rural backdrop of empty back-roads, wooden floors; dusty corners for rustic songs. Two years on, however, Adem has moved out of that humble neighbourhood and taken some astrology (not to mention chances) on the semi-concept album, Love and Other Planets.

If the carefully laid opener doesn’t immediately clue you in, second track ‘Something’s Going to Come’ unabashedly confesses that Adem is writing full-blown pop melodies now. The lively percussion and distant “la, la” ‘s that fill out its chorus are no fluke either; Love and Other Planets is loaded with them. Not only do we hear more harps, bells, whistles and rock-oriented drumming, but they are all party to conceptual lyrics interested in paralleling the way we prioritize love with how insane it is that we are actually spinning around in a galaxy, entirely directionless. Or something like that. These ambitions make Love and Other Planets an obvious departure from the simple, refined warmth of Homesongs, yet for every risk, Adem proves capable of besting his debut.

The glossier production gives these songs a more synthetic edge, which feels natural given the ambient touches and, um, planetary subject matter. Only occasionally does a song seem to be leaning on its soundscapes, and in those cases (‘X is For Kisses’, ‘Last Message From the Lost Mission’), the songs are better off for it. The best hybrid of Adem’s songwriting and production-effort is lead single ‘Launch Yourself’, featuring an addictive rhythm of quick handclaps, off-kilter drum work and heavy keyboard bass against decending harpsichord notes and Adem’s multi-harmonized chanting. It’s as invigorating as it is mesmerizing, and suddenly the boldest moments off of Homesongs won’t seem so epic anymore.

An artist should only take these kind of creative risks when he/she is confidently assured of his/her strengths and Adem has brought his true talents to the table. Despite the new directions taken, Love and Other Planets features a few quietly ruminating folk songs (‘Sea of Tranquility’, ‘Spirals’) to please fans of old. Even though a song or two is notably weaker than the rest, the sequencing compliments them, and if that whole outer-space/love concept sounds lame, it kinda is. Fortunately, it’s more of a thematic bridge to unite the songs, following no decipherable story-arch. Adem’s personal touch, writing songs for the you’s and me’s, thankfully remains very much down to earth.