Album Review: Daniel Folmer: Gloria

Once upon a time I was at a Clientele show at Hailey’s, and one of the opening bands (Great Lakes?) sounded as bad as you might expect a band claiming Brooklyn as a surrogate home would sound. It made no sense for them to open for Clientele. In addition to the fact that they were just awful, their sound was not at all congruent with an atmosphere that would have been appropriate for a Clientele show. In contrast, Beachhouse was a much better choice this time around.

Anyway, as we were suffering through this opening set, my friend made a comment that has stuck with me ever since. He noted that just about every other word out of the singer’s mouth was a pronoun: you, me, we, he, she, I, etc. It was an odd observation to make, but nevertheless, it was like a serendipitous discovery of what it was, even more than the music, that was really irritating about that band.

guTTerTh deserves a pat on the back for sticking their neck out and supporting a slew of acts in the metroplex. To this point, they have 3 releases to their credit (Fair To Midland's Fables of a Mayfly is a fourth on its way June 12th) and incidentally two of the three fall in to the "dangerously high pronoun quotient" category in the way of Daniel Folmer recordings.

Mr. Folmer has received high praise from the Dallas Observer, which recently claimed that he was “on the precipice of something brilliant.” I can understand the anticipatory excitement: DFWd continues to demonstrate surprisingly little propensity to yield quality singer-songwriters, which is especially disappointing given the ostensible regional influence of southern folk/country ala Townes Van Zandt. Even so, I don’t know that such optimism is justified given the aforementioned deluge of pronouns on Folmer’s latest, Gloria.

The most salient feature of Gloria is Folmer’s undeniable inclination to wear his heart on his lyrical sleeve. This, as much as the subdued nature of the music that accompanies him (and I believe Folmer can be credited with nearly every single sound on this album save for a few beats from Cody Seals) is where his appeal would be strongest for the non-dancing-lower-decibel-listening audience. In a case of tragic irony, however, Folmer’s admirable willingness to share the most intimate aspects of his young life is the same quality that may eventually sour on his listeners.

By my count, every single song on Gloria concerns an element of a boy/girl relationship. One after another, the tracks leave a cumulative impression that Gloria is a rather relentless litany of relationship hits and mostly near-misses. I don’t know if all these songs are about the same girl, different girls, or what, but my intuitive reaction is that Folmer should be so lucky to have soooo many relationship issues on his hands. It’s kind of like a catch-22: You must be pretty slick with the chicks if you have enough material to write an entire album about girl-problems.

Track 1, Serotonin, is no doubt one of the album’s strongest, and it deals with the difficulty of sifting through “serotonin side-effects” to find sincerity of sentiment in a relationship. Fair enough, right? I think there’s also a reference to “cutting.” Certainly heart-felt and a weighty topic that many of us of the Prozac generation can empathize with.

Skip to track 3, I’m Not Apt at Speaking French, and there's Folmer sharing his insecurities about a girl being in Europe, without him, topless on a Mediterranean beach, with European men “eye-raping” her.

Track 4, Obsession Blues, reveals more insecurity. There’s a girl, but she was sadly lost to some other guy. The bastard is a “talky one,” a “social butterfly, not the awkward, silent type.”

Track 5, Fancy Free, is also about competing for a chick. This time, the girl enjoys dancing with her new guy, who may or may not be the same guy in Obsession Blues: “Ooh baby dance all night with your brand new boy just like I never would.” Then there's Folmer more viciously: “Sweetheart all your big plans will stumble when you long for pregnancy, so good luck finding a man to raise your children who won’t fuck other women.”

Interestingly, pregnancy is a topic that is present on the album's cover and surfaces several times over the course of the album. The most striking instance is in the next song, the title track. Gloria recounts a night of steamy lust that concludes in a most unsettling way: “We woke in the morning. Sheets were bleeding, our future draining out of your insides.”

Track 7, Final Scene, once again references relationship hell. Perhaps using death as a metaphor for the end of a relationship, Folmer sings “And in our final scene…you’ll bury me inside a scarlet coffin.”

Track 8, Romantic Monstrosity, is somewhat self-explanatory: “A recipe for ecstasy replaced melancholy, this romantic monstrosity, this passionate catastrophe.” By now, some of you might agree that this would have been an equally good selection as the album’s title-track.

Track 9, Sorry for Being so Sorry, is about a relationship that’s hanging on by a thread. Folmer sings about waiting for a girl to call on the phone. He sings: “My flame still burns bright tonight, your words ignite this dimly lit fire.” Not sure if this is the same girl that's on the European vacation in I'm Not Apt at Speaking French.

The final song, Sculptor’s Touch, is about how a girl left a lasting impression on Folmer: she “molded” him with…a “sculptor’s touch.” Here’s Folmer in all his romantic monstrosity: “When you sleep, with all the lights up high, will you think of me?” “When you dream, with all our nights on fire, sweet tranquility…”

Phew! I guess Gloria at least scores points for consistency. But then again, Folmer’s demeanor is alternately vengeful (Obsession Blues, Fancy Free) and conciliatory/ hopeful (Sorry for Being so Sorry). I suppose I can appreciate that he identifies and expresses emotions that can be conflicting in the context of relationship problems, but I think therein lies more tragic irony: the uncompromising passion that dominates Gloria may be at the root of a vicious cycle, which in turn might be cited as the source of the album's monotonous character. “Don’t think twice, it’s all right” would be a pertinent alternative psychology that could open up opportunities to contemplate and sing about things other than girls. It seemed to work for Bob Dylan...

Obviously, Folmer can write about whatever he wants or feels compelled to write about. He’s certainly, like any other artist, under no obligation to entertain me or anyone else inclined to listen to his songs. Moreover, one perspective is that it's a healthy thing when art is the outward product of introspection, and along with that goes a sort of relativism that can preclude judgment. On the other hand, here we have guTTerTh scattering bulletins and comments all over myspace that nag us to go check out Folmer and spend money (a modest sum of $7) on his album. For what it's worth, I actually tend to discount lyrics and the subject matter of songs when considering whether or not I “like” music that I listen to, and I really do enjoy some of the strictly musical content of Gloria.

Maybe I’m jealous that he boasts such an extensive catalogue of relationship experiences. It'd be a shame if my own life is so vapid and utterly devoid of romantic drama (I think I'd welcome serotonin side-effects any day) that I’m inherently skeptical of someone capable of chronicling such melodrama in song upon song. But then again, maybe my outlook is symptomatic of the DFWd experience in general, which itself might play a role in suppressing quality singer-songwriting. It might also explain why someone like Daniel Folmer could reasonably have some of us here on the edge of our seats, anticipating something unique and brilliant.

Gloria was released on May 18, 2007.