Pros: Awesome blend of modern rock, reggae, rap, and electronica, with excellent lyrics and vocals.
Cons: There may be too many ingredients for this to appeal to everyone.
The Bottom Line: It's hard for a new band to throw together so many styles and still be taken seriously, but Earthsuit pulls off a great balance between variety and consistency.
divad23's Full Review: Kaleidoscope Superior by Earthsuit
I'll get right to the point here. Put quite simply, Earthsuit is the best new band of the year 2000. This fivesome from New Orleans has all the necessary elements to take Christian rock by storm. They're the perfect antidote for folks who have grown tired of rock bands like the Newsboys and Jars of Clay not really rocking as much as they used to, and who haven't really embraced the whole hardcore trend because it's frankly a bit scary and not all that melodic. Earthsuit mixes together quite a few styles of music into a remarkably solid debut - there simply isn't a bad song on this album. Do you like dc Talk's shiny, poppy mixture of rap and rock? This CD might stretch you a little, but I think it'll be right up your alley. Take what rap/rock groups like dc Talk and Reality Check have done, throw in some reggae and a small dose of electronica, and add a harder edge to the rapping a laP.O.D. or Pax217, stuff it all into a blender, and top it off with some delicious lead vocals, and you're starting to get an idea of what Earthsuit sounds like.
One Time sneaks up and smashes you over the head with some awesome riffs, killer raps, and a catchy verse and chorus, wasting no time in grabbing its position as my personal "party song of the year". Even if the phrase "one time" is a bit of a hip-hop cliche, it is cleverly used here as a statement that salvation is a "one time shot" - the song is a call for the non-believer to "follow me down the road to the realms of the rhyme". The band's clever lyrical style mixes the clever metaphors often used in hip-hop with the calls for unity often heard in reggae and a mystical language that would be right at home on dc Talk's Supernatural album - it makes its point, but avoids being preachy. Just when you think you've got a grip on the song, lead singer Adam LaClave hits you with a ragamuffin-style chant in the middle that will send you scrambling for the lyric sheet. When I first heard this song and its amazing mix of catchy styles, I was afraid the rest of the album wouldn't live up to it. Boy, was I wrong!
Wheel kicks the tempo up even faster, opening with some techno-type sounds and then hitting full force with an aggressive, almost off-kilter drum rhythm and screamingly powerful guitars. This song rocks with an energy level that, according to a good friend of mine, makes you feel like the band is about to run right off the stage toward you. The lyrics seem a bit lacking at first, because each verse is essentially one line repeated a few times. But take a while to soak in the mystery of the "wheel within a mighty wheel", and the song will reveal new levels of complexity through the music. The syncopated breakdown in the middle of the song is especially nice.
Whitehorse takes on a more dreamy reggae sound, using the guitars more for texture than for blatant force. It's a beautiful expression of longing for Christ's return, but it graciously avoids the exclusive language of most Christian songs regarding the end times. "Jesus riding on a white horse/With spare room for you and I to fly" is their rallying cry here, and Adam uses the verses to describe the desperate searching for someone to rescue his "yellow soul". This is probably the most "inspirational" of the songs on this album, but it still maintains its quirky modern edge.
Against the Grain is one of the hardest songs on the album, more due to the vocals than the guitars. It moves along at a furious pace as keyboardist/vocalist Paul Meany effortlessly slides through two astounding rap verses, his sharp tongue tearing down the hypocrisy in the church that keeps outsiders and insiders alike from being free to question and interact with their God more deeply. As a Christian, I have had far too many experiences with other Christians being judgmental and stifling my questions, so I deeply relate to lyrics like "You cannot ever muzzle me/By reprimanding what puzzles me/The rigid formalities of mankind/That choke the hidden man as you proclaim/Let us make God in our own image." Add to that a highly singable, warp-speed chorus, and a soulful breakdown that leads to a surprise ending, and you've got a rock radio hit waiting to happen.
Do You Enjoy the Distortion? wins my vote for most intriguing song title of the year. It fades in with some bagpipes (?), and then the beats and vocals chime in with a very hip-hop attitude. I'm not even sure what this song is about, though it may be a warning to people who only listen to music for the loud guitars and thrashing rhythms without even paying attention to the lyrics because they don't want a band to make them think! Earthsuit clearly doesn't subscribe to the "keep it simple, stupid" school of thought. They use songs like this - that do rock, by the way - to make you think about why you listen to this stuff in the first place. This song has more than its share of jazz and reggae influence, but near the end it becomes a dead ringer for a Beastie Boys tune. How do they cram in so much good stuff?
Wonder is an upbeat, but more easygoing tune, relying mostly on a catchy beat, acoustic guitar strumming that would make Jars of Clay proud, and another irresistible vocal from Adam. He actually reminds me of a cross between dc Talk's Michael Tait and Luna Halo's Nathan Barlowe on this song. The message is pretty simple - it's about a desire to let go of fear and all of the things you know and fully trust that Jesus is who He says He is.
Osmosis Land is another reggae-rocker, though not as full-force as "One Time". It's really great once it gets going, though - it's just that the first few verses and choruses are a bit repetitive. After that, there's really a lot going on in this song - it makes a lot of left turns just so that you can't predict when they're gonna jump back into the final chorus. Again, I'm not sure of the exact meaning of this song, though I think it has to do with how we can absorb the ways of the world around us if we're not careful. Or maybe it's about how we absorb God's likeness if we spend enough time meditating on His words. I don't know. In any case, it's got intriguing lines like "God above, invade my soul/I become what I behold", and an excellent vocal exchange between Adam's crooning/chatting and Paul's rough-and-tumble rapping.
Schizophreniac is the roughest rocker on the CD. It opens with a creepy piano line that reminds me of something from a Skillet album, and then the drums, bass, and rhythm guitar kick in to create one heck of a thick groove. Then the song explodes briefly before relaxing into the verse, in which Adam takes on the role of a confused individual who is continually changing to please the people around him. Soon, the melody takes a left turn and Paul begins some of his most intense rapping with a great line: "Youth camp junkies don't get enough to make the buzz last!" This brings back chilling memories of what's known as the "camp high" - a bunch of kids being dragged off to a church conference of some sort, having a blast, and coming home with nothing changed. It's a plea for God's people to stop being fake and pretending to be holy just to make the people around them feel good, while at the same time cautioning them not to conform to the world. Earthsuit seems to have pretty strong convictions about being yourself and standing up for what you believe, not what the religious people around you are cramming down your throats, and it takes guts to stick to such a message in today's Christian subculture. This song contains my favorite lyric of the entire CD: "It is much easier to change your tune when your song ain't being played."
Said the Sun to the Shine calms things down one more time - this might be the closest thing on the project to an acoustic ballad, though it has plenty of electronic effects going on just underneath the real instruments. It's a little harder to make out Adam's vocals in this one, but listen carefully - this is a beautiful song. The band has basically used the language of the solar system orbiting the sun to make an analogy for the Great Commission - that we might let God's glory reflect off of us. This is definitely a song to listen to when walking on the beach at sunset. And once again, they deliver a catchy chorus that is a lot of fun to sing along with.
Sky Flashings closes out the album a bit too soon, if you ask me. It is the longest song on the CD (at nearly five minutes), and really quite a good one - a more laid back reggae-rocker without the intense rapping. The bass and guitar playing in this one are definitely jazz inflected, and the entire tune has a more sophisticated feel than some of the more in-your-face tunes. It seems to reprise the mystical feel of songs like "Wheel", "Whitehorse", and "Said the Sun to the Shine", summing up the album's theme as it describes the brilliant display of God's creation. It almost poses a question - how can there not be a God behind this much awesome beauty? "Let the audience refocus eyes on all sky flashings in front of us." My only complaint is that its ending is too abrupt for it to be the last song on the album. Come on, guys, I want more!
In the end, the only bad thing I can say about this album is that 10 songs is way too short. Perhaps they cut the songs down to the ones they felt were top-notch and ready for public consumption - even a brilliant band like Earthsuit who has so many influences could probably come up with some fairly horrible concoctions in the studio (hey, we've seen dc Talk do it). So I guess I'm glad that they gave us 10 solid tracks instead of just a few radio hits and some cliche filler songs. I'm dying to see these guys in concert, and to see what they put out in the future. Let's just hope they continue to blend their influences as beautifully as they have here. Kaleidoscope Superior may not be for everyone - hardcore rock fans will obviously think it is too poppy, and softer rock fans may find the rap parts to be a bit of a rough ride. But I think it's worth a listen for any rock music fan, and a definite must for diehard fans of groups like dc Talk and Reality Check.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Against the Grain, One Time, Schizophreniac, Said the Sun to the Shine, Wheel, Whitehorse, Osmosis Land
Good: Do You Enjoy the Distortion?, Wonder, Sky Flashings
Decent: NONE
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Band Members:
Adam LaClave: Lead vocals
Paul Meany: Keyboards, rap vocals
Roy Mitchell: Bass, Classical guitar
Dave Rumsey: Electric/acoustic guitars
David "Hutch" Hutchinson, Jr.: Drums/percussion
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