Pain is a Reliable Signal

November 18, 2009

It seems like often times the best art comes out of tragedy. Some of the most moving and emotionally stirring music in the last few years such as Funeral, “Casimir Pulaski Day”, The Meaning of 8, or more recently Hospice, touch on feelings of loss, depression, and redemption. Sam Jacobs, singer-songwriter and frontman The Flying Change, draws from his experiences of caring for his wife, who suffers from excruciating back pain due to spinal nerve defects, and their shared encounters with surgery, hospital waiting rooms, and countless doctors in order to find a cure. What emerged is the album Pain Is a Reliable Signal, a gorgeous collection of songs filled with melancholy, catharsis, and hopefulness.

My favorite track on the album is “Dirty White Coats”, a Magnetic Fields sounding folk-pop song with delicately picked acoustic guitar and subtle hints of trumpet, violin, and piano. The song is a bittersweet look at how seeing doctor after doctor and how constantly having tubes and needles stuck in your body (”they can never find your vein” he sings) can makes the treatment process seem callous and cold, when the goal should really be to make you feel better. Not everything is a downer though, there’s actually quite a bit of optimism in these tunes, as visible in upbeat lo-fi pop of “If You See Something, Say Something”, a play on the famous subway billboard slogan. The well-constructed instrumentation of the track includes a solo horn and lively glockenspiel and the song builds to a triumphant sing-a-long ending with infectious call-and-response vocals. Overall, this a magnificent album that truly explores the human condition in a meaningful way.

MP3 The Flying Change – Dirty White Coats
MP3 The Flying Change – If You See Something, Say Something

Purchase Pain Is A Reliable Signal at cdbaby.

Posted by Taylor in Album Review