Review Summary: "I wish that I could say I did it coz I was young"
Following the success of their self-titled LP, The Servant spent about two years touring—primarily in France—and self-promoting in Europe. Somewhere along the way Dan Black began writing some new songs that ultimately would comprise their highly-anticipated new album,
How to Destroy a Relationship. Yet the album failed to meet expectations and fans felt let down; the album's failure also led to the dissolution of the band one year later. It's a shame, because the album itself isn't that bad. It's just...
different.
Opening with a melodic guitar riff, the album quickly takes on more of a "mainstream" indie rock character than any of the band's previous work; most tracks feature guitars front and center, verse-chorus structures, and traditional rock band instrumentation, in stark contrast to the band's past three albums which were primarily electronic with flairs of guitar and real instruments as an accompaniment to Dan Black's synthesized sounds.
It is jarring to hear this new sound coupled with lyrics that delve broadly into such topics as the destruction of a relationship, sleep deprivation, and taking drugs, and there are six (count 'em) songs about living an unfulfilled life and wishing for something more. In many ways this is the angst and alienation that defined the band's previous triumph, but here it's taken too far, coming off as the unbecoming whining and self-loathing of a small-time band that can't figure out why they're not the biggest thing in the world (hint: this album is just one of many reasons why). The Servant are at their best pondering the minutiae of day-to-day life and illustrating complex emotions; on this album they've expanded too quickly into unpracticed territory, and their usual approach at capturing the intricacies of life fails due to this unwieldy new breadth.
Musically, the album's all right. Tracks one and two flow seamlessly together, with verses and choruses that sound like alternate takes of each other. And since they've both got warmth and hooks and the occasional quirky one-liner to grab your attention, this works to the album's advantage. "Hey Lou Reed", sappy lyrics aside, isn't bad as a slow aside. Neither is "Save Me Now", which roars back with the intensity and flavor of the first two songs. "Brains" is hard and heavy (the hardest and heaviest of all The Servant's songs), and "I Wish I Could Stop Wishing for Things" is so damn catchy you can't help but sing along. And "Out of Phase" is a delightfully whimsical, orchestrated tune that closes the album on a fine note.
Other songs, namely "Moonbeams" and "(I Should Be Your) Girlfriend", miss the mark. Everything about their build-ups and melodies works, right up until the choruses which awkwardly clunk along. "On Your Knees Kid" has an uncomfortable military march feel, with blaring guitar and a monotonous bass that would sound right at home on a late-era Oasis record if the lyrics weren't such a drag (See "Look at my life just going nowhere" and "Up in a cloud it seems the city is just a dream"). And "Hey Do You Feel Good?" is a sleepy, bloated piece of work that, with a duration of 4:47, lasts a minute and a half too long.
How to Destroy a Relationship is ironically how The Servant destroyed their own relationships with both their fans and each other. By diverging from their masterful indie-electronic sound and nuanced song-writing in favor of more mainstream guitar rock and inane subject matter, the band produced an album that alienated older fans and failed to convince new ones, while simultaneously drawing a creative rift between bandleader Dan Black and his bandmates. About one year later, the band would split up "to move on to pastures new". Black would go on to launch a lackluster pop-oriented solo career, co-founders Chris Burrows and Matt Fisher would disappear from the public eye, and drummer Trevor Sharpe would find a home with a couple no-name underground alt rock groups. None of them would achieve the fame or success they had with The Servant, which is a shame given their talent and potential. Had they stuck the course, this album mightn't have been as disastrous as it was and they might still be together trying to produce another brilliant record like their 2004 opus. Instead, we have this mediocre rock record. Not the best legacy, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
