Days of the New (Outpost)
New Days rising
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By JEFFREY LEE PUCKETT © The Courier-Journal
Reviewed Sept. 11, 1999
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With the second Days of the New album, auteur Travis Meeks sidesteps any question of a sophomore slump by completely reinventing himself. "Days of the New" is such a different beast that comparisons to the band's debut are moot; it might as well be considered a second first album.
That's a pretty bold move given the multiplatinum sales of the first album. Most would have followed with more of the same -- acoustic metal music, stripped down and arranged for the classic rock quartet of two guitars, bass and drums. If it ain't broke. . . .
Instead, Meeks made the band smaller -- it's essentially just him and hired guns -- while making the sound much bigger. "Days of the New" is a thickly produced m{AAelange of influences, everything from the Doors and Beatles to Middle Eastern music and Metallica (lyrically, anyway). Industrial noise mixes with an orchestra and choir (a choir!), reducing Meeks' signature acoustic guitar to a supporting role.
One thing is unchanged about the 20-year-old Meeks: The kid can write a hook, huge and unavoidable. On songs such as "Weapon & the Wound," "Flight Response," "Take Me Back Then" and "Enemy," he drops beautifully simple pop hooks in the middle of complex arrangements, making them even more catchy because of the context.
That gift fails him often enough to keep "Days of the New" from really taking off. Too many songs settle for being production numbers that are fun to listen to a couple of times but don't have the staying power of the best songs.
And a lot of people will have problems with Meeks' often overwrought and pretentious writing, although it fits the tone of the music -- and no one in his target audience of alienated, sensitive young men will find anything wrong with the constant references to pain, confusion, pain, fear and pain.
If that's not you, this album might not matter. But even casual fans of Louisville music should check it out, if only because it signals the beginning of what should be a long, interesting career.
