I have officially embarked on the difficult quest to read, finish, and hopefully enjoy Mark Z. Danielewski’s strange haunted novel House of Leaves. It has been a harrowing journey thus far wading through the footnotes, appendices, and parallel stories. House of Leaves is certainly not an easy read and should not be attempted half-heartedly.
Disguised as a regular album, Danielewski’s musical sister Poe (born Annie) released Haunted as something of a bizarre soundtrack to the book. It, like House of Leaves, was spurred on by the death of her father Tad Danielewski. Haunting, death, flashbacks, and in the end a strange kind of redemption mark Haunted as a unique kind of concept album. While Poe’s debut Hello (1995) is definitely worth checking out, this one is clearly the more conceptual and emotional but also the most fundamentally flawed.
Haunted is not without its faults. It cannot be entirely understood without first reading (or beginning to read) House of Leaves. A great album must stand on its own merits. This is clearly not a great album. For fans of the 2000 novel, Haunted will shed additional light on to the story. The song titles, lyrics, and mood are all directly related to the book. I am unconvinced of this album’s genius but remain fascinated by the emotional texture of the whole thing. It is unquestionably an honest dedication to Poe’s father but even more so a companion piece to her brother’s writing. Haunted is an unsettling, dark, brooding, and occasionally over-wrought effort that will be better suited to fans of House of Leaves than of music in general.
Digitally recorded, Haunted leaves me feeling somewhat let down. Digital recording is a fine enough medium, but it always leaves me feeling detached from the artist. This album is no exception to the rule, but the spookiness, passion, and cathartic nature of the final product makes me mostly forget about that failing. Single Hey Pretty is easily the best known of the eighteen songs. It is also one of the most immediately entertaining tracks of the album. Trippy, slightly upbeat, and enthusiastic it’s the kind of thing I can’t ignore. However it takes a while to actually reach this tenth track and listeners will have to wade through many much less upbeat and mainstream songs.
Scattered throughout are “answering machine” messages from Poe. The first is Exploration B which is the singer/songwriter supposedly relaying the news of her father’s death to her mother. I say “supposedly” because it is not real as far as I can tell. It’s just a means by which to unite songs and themes. In this case, it introduces the smooth and lovely title track. Haunted is unarguably one of top handful of songs on this album swirling together guitars and electronic elements. It works well and sparks interest in the rest of the album. Control is the next song and begins with the laughter of a child. I’m admittedly drawn to the song early on by the chunky, trip-hop direction but it loses momentum as it progresses and eventually leads to complete disinterest on my part as listener.
Aside from the entirely digital arrangement and answering machine messages, these songs are also united by the elder Danielewski’s lectures unearthed years earlier on cassette tape. Unfortunately, the approach does not work well on all songs. Terrible Thought begins with just one of these sampled lectures and then breaks off into a dry, boring, and in the end droning mix of electronica. I want to love it—I really do, but the fact remains that so much of this relies too heavily on the relationship with her brother’s book. It isolates the listener from the concept of the album at the same time it attempts to draw the listener in. I’m uncomfortable with this artificial approach. Fortunately there are songs that do indeed stand well on their own legs regardless of all of these things. Walk the Walk is a rich, round, rock-infused track complete with angst and anger. It works rather well as Poe rap-talks along side the kinetic rhythms and melody.
Thrown off again by an answering machine message to Poe’s mother, Terrified Heart begins on a sour note. I’m not impressed by the offering in the end and am turned off by the monotonous, melodramatic sometimes breathy song nor do I really enjoy (or for that matter despise) the follow-up Wild. 5 ½ Minute Hallway brings some needed release with an acoustic guitar paired with the occasional percussion and violin. Despite this interesting arrangement, I can’t say I actually enjoy the song. In fact, come to think of it, 5 ½ Minute Hallway is one of the worst and least purposeful songs of the entire album. In fact, I can’t help but think people who haven’t read House of Leaves will be turned off by the references to the ever expanding corridor.
Not a Virgin fits in the same category as Walk the Walk, Hey Pretty and Haunted in that it is a relatively immediately gratifying song complete with husky vocals, drum machines, a catchy chorus, and great arrangement. Unfortunately unlike those other songs I’ve compared Not a Virgin to it doesn’t stick with me after it ends. Speaking of thing that don’t stand the test of time, Dear Johnny is there specifically for the entertainment of fans of House of Leaves. It is nothing more than a discombobulated reference to the book. It’s distorted and unimportant in the context of the album. It’s unfortunately not helped out by the song that follows, either. Could’ve Gone Mad is a generic, “kicky” alt-rock-pop song that is really seems half hearted in the end and for Poe who has already proven herself as a singer/songwriter. Lemon Meringue is a strange song. Peppered with country-rock ala Sheryl Crow, it doesn’t fit with the album or “moody” direction nor does it stay with me in any way in the end.
Spanish Doll is a gorgeous, trippy, almost flamenco-feeling song that despite differing so distinctly from the rest of Haunted remains ironically one of the more haunting selections. House of Leaves combines all of the things I’ve disliked about the album—lectures, answering machines, grinding samples, and “child-like” voices. Obviously it is specific to the book and therefore the importance will be lost on people who’ve never read it. For instance, the chaotic exchange between father, mother, and daughter:
Daughter:
I can hear myself I’m somewhere in there, what’s happening?
Mother:
Nobody’s home
Daughter:
Daddy
Father:
I thought he was dead
Daughter:
Where are you
Father:
Dead
Father’s ghost:
Try now to take the next step
While I think the idea is interesting, I still don’t necessarily appreciate it in the context of a musical album sans the complete knowledge of House of Leaves. Amazed is a light, somewhat interesting song that ranks among the better of this disc. If You Were Here speaks directly to Poe’s father. As far as emotionally honest and specific references go, it makes this album make sense. I like its lightness and appreciate its directness especially in light of the strange and directionless bits of Haunted.
Poe tries so hard to make a conceptual piece that complements her brother’s book. Some of the songs work in the way the album does not. They work on their own. Hey Pretty, Haunted, Walk the Walk, and Not a Virgin are good songs while If You Were Here makes great sense in the context of Haunted. Do I love Haunted? No way. Do I appreciate it? Yes, as a companion piece to House of Leaves but really as an album not in any other way. It’s a cool but not in the end an effective or relevant album.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Exploration
02. Haunted
03. Control
04. Terrible Thought
05. Walk the Walk
06. Terrified Heart
07. Wild
08. 5 ½ Minute Hallway
09. Not a Virgin
10. Hey Pretty
11. Dear Johnny
12. Could’ve Gone Mad
13. Lemon Meringue
14. Spanish Doll
15. House of Leaves
16. Amazed
17. If You Were Here
_____________________________
Related Review:
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.