Blunt Objects – Round Points

Blunt Objects – Round Points – Album Review

I’m starting to think Bill’s found an impressive way of getting twice the value out of each tune he creates by having one version appear in what he does with DID NOT!, and another show up on the Blunt Objects albums.  It might not be a bad strategy all-in-all…but I’d definitely advise a bit of caution with that if he’s gonna keep on cranking out like eight albums a year.  When it goes right it’s no real burden of course – more of a good thing can always become a great thing…but that’s my take on that, and I’m more of the exception than the rule.  For the rest of the folks in this world, they’re movin’ at a rapid pace…and if you give’em a sense of been there and done that, especially in a short timeframe, they’re bound to move on to whatever’s next quicker than we can all blink.  That being said, I like this second take on “Lonely Together” from Blunt Objects here to start up this album called Round Points.  I first heard the song on a record by DID NOT! called Again? that I reviewed earlier this week…and if I’m being truthful with ya, I don’t know that I expected to hear it again from the Blunt Objects perspective.  I think we tend to associate a new version with fixing something or improving on what we heard in the original version, and I wouldn’t have picked “Lonely Together” for needing too much tinkering with…Bill already got this one right in the former version.  I ain’t objecting to this variation of “Lonely Together” either when it comes right down to it – it’s just a good song at the end of the day.  It’s more of a lateral move when you find someone like Bill Owens covering his own material, especially when it had come out soundly before.

You listen to enough of someone’s music in a short span, and believe me, you’ll notice patterns in what they choose to write about.  Bill’s got a big heart…a lot of what he likes to write about reflects that.  When he’s not writing love-songs, he’s usually reminding me how far it’s past my bedtime with a track that’s about not getting enough sleep, or at least wanting a whole lot more of it.  “(I Need To) Sleep!” would be an example of that in action for ya.  It’s a pretty decent tune…certainly relatable for any of you out there that have trouble getting some shuteye.  If you’ve ever spent your nights counting the hours on your clock in the dark as you eventually notice the sun coming up again, you’ll definitely find yourself understanding where Bill’s coming from on this tune.  It’s definitely one of those tunes that’s right in the middle…you can’t be quite certain you’re supposed to take it all seriously, yet you’re not entirely sure if it’s meant to be funny either…”(I Need To) Sleep” does have humor in it, but it’s not quite a completely comedic tune…and that usually ends up being a bit confusing for the ol’ audience out there listening.  “Never quite asleep, never quite awake” is an accurate description of exactly how I feel every single day of my life, and have for as long as I can remember.  To me, “(I Need To) Sleep” was more observational and real than perhaps Bill even intended…but that’s because I’ve been a night owl by default for what seems like forever.  For others, they’ll probably just appreciate that it’s a pretty catchy tune.  I think Bill’s given himself some leeway here with his performance…dude’s supposed to be tired…so it’s not like we’d expect the most pepped-up performance to go along with a concept like that, even though we might like it.  Owens is in a purposely hazy gear on this track…and supposing you’re not too tired yourself, I’d guess that the performance he puts in will be a welcome fit, even though it’s not what we’re typically seeking.

“(I Don’t Wanna Be The) Guy Who Let You Down.”  Then (Don’t Be The) Guy With Brackets Around Everything, and we’ll get along just fine.  *winky face.  I’ll be real with ya…I’m not entirely convinced that this song works as it is here…the vocal effects are really thick and the rest of the song is a bit on the meandering side of sound…I find myself engaged with it in a kind of loosely hypnotic way…but I suspect that again, I’d be the exception and not the rule.  “(I Don’t Wanna Be The) Guy Who Let You Down” is going to need a bit more spark to it and some life in its veins…it needs to find that reason that makes us want to return to it, and I’m not quite sure that everyone’s gonna find that in here as it is right now.  I’d definitely argue on behalf of its uniqueness, and I like that Bill’s trying something more along the psychedelic lines that is certainly interesting on an artistic & creative level…but its appeal is more niche.

“Cloudy With Storms” has some solid ideas…great low-end rhythm leading the way and a poetic track in terms of its theme & lyricism.  It’s kind of got this really neat, avant-garde type of jazzy sound to it all, and I can get behind that in many ways.  Is it perfect?  No…I probably wouldn’t go that far, but I don’t really think that’s always the point or the reason why we should make music either.  Drums are a bit on the rambunctious side and I’m not completely sure that’s called for…in fact, I think if the beat wasn’t there at all, there’s a great chance that “Cloudy With Storms” might have come out even stronger.  This might be one of those cases where a little bit less could be a little bit more…but don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining personally – I think there’s a lot of cool stuff goin’ on in this particular track that makes it stand out for its uniqueness.  There’s swagger and style to it…like you’ve walked right into a club in the underground late at night around 3am, and Bill’s there jammin’ on “Cloudy With Storms” with a band hidden in the wisps of smoke behind him somewhere.  I don’t know that I can say it’s gonna be for everyone, but I don’t think Bill has any illusions about Blunt Objects being quite that accessible to begin with…from what I’ve heard & what I can tell, it’s much more of a ‘if you get it, you get it’ type of music.  Pass or fail, I’m all about pursuing new things with your creativity – this tune is straight-up nifty to me.

When it comes to “Tomorrow,” I think a couple things can be true.  On the one hand, the songwriting is terrific, so let’s acknowledge that up front.  While I’ll admit, I’m fully exhausted on the consistent supply of pandemic-related tunes that have since flooded the scene since the moment it happened, I have to say, I appreciate the way that Bill has written this song and how objective the way he’s approached this topic.  In fact, many folks out there might not even realize that’s what “Tomorrow” is all about unless they’re really paying close attention…I think that kind of interpretive value is always an asset at the end of the day.  I also think Owens puts in an exceptional performance on the microphone…both the sincerity and the genuine sorrow come through brilliantly – it’s one of my favorite tunes for his vocals without a doubt.  With all that great stuff being said…I gotta be honest with the man…I think he’s paired all that good stuff with some of the toughest music to sell to the masses out there.  What ya don’t want, is for words & songwriting like this to get lost…and at the very least, “Tomorrow” is in for an undeniable uphill battle with a whole bunch of tones from the synthesizers that are going to be…hmm…challenging to the average everyday listener, at least in my opinion.  So where Bill tends to love to do two versions of the songs he’s been creating, I’d very much be looking at finding a different way to present “Tomorrow” to his audience, because it really is one of the best examples of his ability to create tunes with real insight, honesty, and tremendous detail.  I wouldn’t go as far as to say the music is necessarily grating…it’s a level or two below that threshold for sure…but it’s hard to argue that it’d be perceived as welcome as a song like this deserves to be with the current sounds that form its music & melody for ya.  I really liked that “Tomorrow” doesn’t try to attack any one side…it’s just extremely observant overall.

At first, I was really unsure about the way the lyrics of “I Want You” were coming out…it sounded a little too plain when I had my first spin through it.  That was before I realized what was actually occurring in this tune, and then I had to acknowledge the cleverness at work here.  I’d still readily acknowledge that “I Want You” would have a narrow audience to appeal to given that the music is so anti-typical…but personally, I liked it.  I also liked the vocal melody that Owens created too – I think there’s genuine potential of all kinds to be found within this song.  The various nods to the Beatles you’ll find within this song if you’re listening close, were really fun additions to the lyrics…it was kind of like discovering one of those ‘easter eggs’ you find in movies & whatnot.  I don’t know that it’s going to be enough to keep the masses on board if I’m being entirely honest…cleverness, artistic depth, unique ideas…these tend to be things that listening ears rebel against constantly.  All-in-all though, I felt like Bill really had an interesting idea to work with on this song, and went after it with the commitment it deserved.  Whether people love something, like it, or don’t from there…that’s the game every tune plays more or less – but if you can be satisfied with what you brought to a song and/or the moment, that’s really all that matters.  Just because a song might not be destined for the mainstream doesn’t disqualify a tune’s artistic merit.

“You Can Have My Heart” has a fun rhythm to it, and kind of has a foot in both worlds, nestling right in the middle of the strange but still accessible enough.  Definitely one of those tracks that I found the more I gave it a spin, the more I seemed to like it.  I also dig the theme that Bill’s rockin’ with on this track too…it’s like he’s determined his heart has become a big ol’ paperweight of sorts, and he may as well give it away to anyone out there that’s looking for one.  “It’s pumpin’ blood to organs that don’t need it anymore,” he sings…which is ironically, kind of heartbreaking when it comes right down to it.  That being said, I feel like the bizarre fun energy that “You Can Have My Heart” contains has a lot of life in its veins…and I’d probably be inclined to put this in the category of Blunt Objects tunes that’ll surprise you more than you’d think on that first listen.  Put this cut to the test y’all…I’m standing by what I’ve said here as I always do – the more you play “You Can Have My Heart,” the more you’ll find you dig it.

“Every Day” would be a much better example of the fish that got away, or the song that’s completely jumped the shark, as they say.  I ain’t gonna start lying to you fine folks now, and not to Bill either – I think I enjoyed the fact that there was the ol’ fake-out ending on “Every Day,” and that’s probably about it.  The rest of this track is a bit of an audible mess that needs a whole lot of sortin’ out in the mix as far as my ears are concerned.  I don’t mind when the music is louder than the vocals – heck, in a great many situations, I actually prefer it…but it’s rarely that I feel that way in the context of songwriters with the skills that Bill has on a lyrical level, and when I feel strongest about it to begin with, it’s because there’s music that is really demanding that it deserves the extra attention…and I’m not so sure that’s the case here.  “Every Day” seems a bit empty when it comes to what would be driving its main ideas and sound overall…like…if Round Points had been a nine track album, and this particular track came on about a half hour after I thought the album was finished like one of the old hidden cuts on a CD from back in the day, I’d probably be all for it…but as a main track in the lineup, I’m not sure this tune measures up to what we know Bill’s capable of by comparison to just about everything we’ve heard from the man so far.  I’d reckon this track needs more diversity than it actually appears to have…it might sound like Owens has included everything, which he has to a degree…but the dynamics of “Every Day” are like what listening to a mellow wall of sound effect would be…there’s no real fluctuation, it’s just stuffed completely full.  Which is actually why I think the ending works as brilliantly as it does to be truthful…we get a couple of seconds to catch our breath, reset, and appreciate a bit of the melody at the core of this tune as it ends.

Where Bill might need some cautionary advice is that quality is going to be what wins over the heart of the people out there over quantity, every time.  Don’t get me wrong, as creative types that have gotten into the studio or recording finally at long last, every one of us gets it…it’s shiny, it’s new, it’s AWESOME – and you wanna be in there 24/7 pushing that wonderful record button and watch that red light come on.  With two versions of a bunch of songs, with so many records being released on the inside of a year or so…all I’m saying is that Bill’s gotta be careful of oversaturating his own audience, and that even on songs like “Thank You” that come out pretty well, there’s still 5% being left on the table to make them even better – make sense?  So ditch that second version of another song…put the ninth album of the year on the shelf for a moment longer…refine, perfect, and be brutally objective…that’s gonna be the key for this guy going forward from here.  Of course it always depends on the goals and whatnot, but in my opinion, he’s got a fair bit of space to make a huge difference in the material he’s creating, where he could take several really good songs and make them even greater than they currently are.  I’m not saying these particular songs…I’m saying the next ones he ends up writing…those songs…don’t just Round the Points, round the corners too my friend…it’ll make all the difference in the world to the folks on the other side of the speakers.  Like…in listening to something like “Thank You,” there is SO MUCH sweetness to work with in what’s an extraordinarily beautiful duet and brilliantly written song, that I’m almost perplexed by how much additional music is in the mix that is guaranteed to distract people from what’s not just good, but outright amazing in the writing/performance of “Thank You.”  Those (five) of you that read these pages of ours on the regular know I’m all about doing right by the song itself and what it’s calling for…and that’s where Owens has got some room to evolve in his craft still.  I very much like the fact that Blunt Objects is a project that tends to do things…differently, let’s say that…but at the end of the day, the song still reigns supreme…and when you’ve got a track like “Thank You” that is calling for the sweetness to be the dominant factor and trait, ditch the rest of anything getting in the way of that.  Because this song would absolutely work as just a piano tune with a warm synth glow in the background…and to be honest, I don’t know that it even needs a whole lot more than that.  With all that’s included into it now, I would completely bet on people missing out on how incredible this song could really be.  I’m not sure who the lady is singing with Bill, but she’s a level beyond and perfectly suited for this song.  Writing-wise, it’s beautifully devastating and one of the most emotional tunes you’ll hear in your life…we’re talking about a song that’s in the same category of a dude like Tom Waits, or Leonard Cohen…you know what I mean…the writers that can shatter you while making you smile.

“I tend to write what I see,” Bill sings…and he ain’t wrong about that as far as I can tell, that’s a solid assessment.  He’s got a great gift with words when it comes right down to it…and he’s got a great way of observing the past in the present & finding a way to reveal nostalgia in a different light than most do.  For sure, a lot of that ends up being on the sadder side of sound & songwriting, but it’s also remarkably real too…and I think a lot of people out there will relate to what he writes about in his music more-so than they’d assume from the strange way it often sounds in Blunt Objects.  Like…I don’t know that I’d go as far as to say “Happy Endings” works in terms of hooks or accessibility & all that…but in terms of the writing and theme, for sure.  We have to somewhat acknowledge the fact that Bill’s genuinely a poet trying to do his level best to adapt to a different environment than the written page, choosing music as his outlet for his poetry instead.  When it works, it works brilliantly…and when it doesn’t as much, we’re left scratching our heads a bit more in wonder as we muse on his artistic creativity…but to be completely fair, he’s given us more than a reason or two to listen to practically every song he’s put onto every record he’s made so far – and that’s impressive y’all.  You can’t say that about the majority of the scene, and he should be immensely proud of that.  There’s really only a couple of scattered tunes that I’ve heard within like, what, seven or eight albums that I’ve reviewed now where I’ve wondered what the heck Bill was thinking…but the rest of the material, has been insightful, beautiful, cleverly strange, and undeniably engaging on several levels.  “Happy Endings” brings about a solid conclusion to Round Points…it’s a personal song that has a whole lot of emotional weight to it, but justifiably so considering the content of the lyrics and how much of this is based on an up close look at his own mortality.  He’s still got a whole lot more in the tank as far as I can tell, don’t let him fool ya…this dude is spry of mind, big on heart, and creative to the nth degree – I’m always gonna look forward to whatever he does next.

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