(2017) The World Is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die - Always Foreign
Review: Connecticut’s The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die isn’t for the faint of heart. The band’s records are cinematic in scope, telling stories that don’t have definitive endpoints, instead using ambiguity to pack an emotional punch. On their new album, Always Foreign, the band embraces that all the more, turning in songs that churn slowly, balancing soaring harmonies against moments that linger in the disquiet. Produced by The World Is a Beautiful Place guitarist Christopher Teti, Always Foreign confronts everything from the opioid epidemic to xenophobia to emotional abuse in relationships. Throughout the album, The World Is a Beautiful Place match their sprawling arrangements and layered lyricism with a raw emotionality. “When we started writing we were fresh off Trump being elected, so there’s an anger to the album that’s different from what we’ve done in the past,” says The World Is a Beautiful Place vocalist David F Bello. “There’s a lot more resistance thinking throughout the songs-not in a way that’s strictly anti-Trump, but also addressing things like white supremacy and controlling elements of the state.” Along with Bello, Cyr, and Teti, the TWIABP lineup includes Tyler Bussey (guitar, banjo, synth, vocals), Dylan Balliett (guitar, vocals), Katie Dvorak (synth, vocals), and Steven K Buttery (percussion, vocals). Formed in Connecticut in 2009, TWIABP made their full-length debut with Whenever, If Ever (a 2013 release hailed as “revolutionary” by Pitchfork) and later delivered Harmlessness (praised as “bold and complex and dazzling” by Noisey and “grandiose and dramatic” by NPR).
Tracklist:
- I’ll Make Everything [02:23]
- The Future [02:25]
- Hilltopper [02:58]
- Faker [05:09]
- Gram [03:47]
- Dillon and Her Son [02:21]
- Blank #12 [01:13]
- For Robin [03:56]
- Marine Tigers [07:00]
- Fuzz Minor [04:28]
- Infinite Steve [06:10]
Summary: Country: USA Genre: indie-rock, post-rock