The Ugly Organ by Cursive

(This isn't actually what my CD cover looks like. For some reason, all the digital versions of the cover are lacking the smeared ink all over the piano keys that are on the physical copies. Google it if you want to see what the CD version looks like.)

Cursive
The Ugly Organ
2003
Emo
Saddle Creek

1. The Ugly Organist
2. Some Red Handed Sleight Of Hand
3. Art Is Hard
4. The Recluse
5. Herald! Frankenstein
6. Butcher The Song
7. Driftwood: A Fairy Tale
8. A Gentlemen Caller
9. Bloody Murderer
10. Sierra
11. Staying Alive
(Also contains a 800x800 album cover .jpeg of the cover shown above)

The car. Riding home. Girl sits with her arms crossed. Her thoughts audible.

"So rub it in...in your dumb lyrics.
Yeah, that's the time and place to wring out your bullshit,
And with each album I get shit on a little more.
Who's Tim's latest whore?"

"Butcher The Song"

Like Brand New, Cursive is another band that takes emo music and takes it one step farther to come into their own. Cursive has a much more recognizable sound than Brand New does, however. On this album and their previous EP, they enlisted a cellist to give them a smoother, more refined sound. Their guitarist/vocalist/lyricist, Tim Kasher, plays like a math rock guitar player in the way his rhythm parts are often twirly and intricate. He writes very narrative lyrics (especially on The Ugly Organ) that he often refuses to put a melody to, ensuring they are the song's top priority.

That's all for good reason with this one. As far as I know, all of the Cursive records are concept albums, and this one has my favorite story. Please note that my translation of the story is debatable and I'm sure there are those that know more about it than me. But as far as I can tell, it goes like this: the album revolves around the story of The Ugly Organist, who is the frontman and lyricist of a famous rock band whose lyrics are wrapped up in anguish and misery, and all come from life experience. He finds himself subliminally ruining his own life in order to garner new material.

His girlfriend doesn't like it, though. She has the idea that he secretly hates her, and that most of his songs are either about her wrongdoings, or worse - the wrongdoings of another woman. She leaves him, pregnant with their child. This tears the ulgy organist's heart all to peices, and goes through a long period of his life filled with meaningless lust after countless meaningless women, trying to erase the memory of his one real love, that he destroyed for the sake of his art. Once his daughter is born without any knowing of who her father is, he obsesses over taking his love back, and considers even taking drastic measures by kidnapping his own child. He drives himself to suicidal thoughts, but in the end decides to move on with his life, away from his dead relationship, and stay alive among all the madness of his past.

I think.

The music is very original. Mathy emo tinged with post-hardcore influences, driven by clean guitars and a cellist that sounds like her last job was laying down tracks for the Friday The 13th soundtrack. The songs that stand out to me are "Butcher The Song," "Driftwood: A Fairy Tale," and "A Gentlemen Caller." The only real critisism that I have of the album is that the grand finale, "Staying Alive," is much too long for what it is. I'm all for epic long jam songs, like those on The Mars Volta or Godspeed You! Black Emperor albums, but not much happens in this song. It could afford to be about 5 minutes shorter. I really like it until I get bored of it, though.

Final word: great album by a truly original band. Check it out if you're into rock music at all.

Click here to download (90.23 MB)

Tim Kasher likes "the S word" a lot.

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