Willard Grant Conspiracy – Regard the End / 2004 Kimchee Records / 11 Songs / http://wgc.hinah.com / http://www.kimcheerecords.com / Released 17 February 2004 / Reviewed 06 February 2004

Hey… if it was possible, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, and Jim Morrison had a kid, named eir Simon, and eventually, Simon joined the Willard Grant Conspiracy. Mainly moving towards an alt-country stance with “Regard the End”. Alternatively, a track like “River in the Pines” good be a cut-scene The Folksmen (one of the bands from A Mighty Wind) track. What I’m trying to say here is that the Willard Grant Conspiracy, both in musical form and vocals, plays a type of music that is both distinct and timeless, talented and not diluted. Everything is constructed in this rustic style that molds the entire thirteen pieces currently in the band into one coherent sound, each with a deliberate and intentional sound. While each song sounds vaguely similar to each other, the net effect with “Regard the End” is one specific symphony, albeit divided into 11 different movements.

Needless to say, all tracks on this disc are innocuous and intensely compelling, but after half-way, the disc seems to be just rehashing the same sound, destroying what could have been a good album with the lack of desire to continue creating a new sound. Without this desire, the album is just a more folksy version of Dave Matthews or John Mayer, with a good sound the first few tracks but also with a slow realization that the disc isn’t going anywhere. “Rosalee” is the height of the disc, but it still is much farther along on the disc after individuals will have turned it off with disgust at the rut the band has created. Almost totally a Robert Fisher track (only having another individual help with the writing of the lyrics), “Rosalee” has a much more poppy outlook than the rest of the tracks, almost working double duty as an adult contemporary type of song.

“Fare Thee Well” is another track that stands above the murky waters of the disc, using a Stevie Nicks-esque vocalist to add a little spice to the equation as well as create a nice contrast to the horns and strummy guitar on the track. The Willard Grant Conspiracy tries to reinvent the wheel, but a great many of the times approach the problem nearly the same way. Each and every track is beautiful on its own, but the main issue with this disc is the similarity that the tracks have to each other – the 11 movements to one symphony can be a good thing, or just be variations on a theme. This time, we are left with amazing tracks but tracks that are nonetheless considerably linear.

Top Tracks : Rosalee, Fare thee Well

Rating : 5.9/10