One of my suggestions was chosen for this week’s album review. I’m going to be tied up for much of tomorrow, so getting this out tonight:
Together We’re Heavy by The Polyphonic Spree (2004)
If you don’t want any background on my choice and just want to dive in, here you go…and yes it starts at Section 11 as their debut album before this has Sections 1-10:
I feel a little bad about the length here (double album). I added 3 albums to the Google sheet, with the other 2 being very different female driven projects, and much shorter. I only added The Polyphonic Spree to the list recently after listening to Jellyfish, as many of the same pop/rock influences are present, and I thought it would be an interesting juxtaposition of bands with similar influences. I didn’t think that juxtaposition would be immediate, but we’re here so let’s just go with it.
What I think makes The Polyphonic Spree unique are the choral rock and psychedelic pop aspects as Together We’re Heavy is described as pop, psychedelic pop, and symphonic rock in Wikipedia, and the band is classified as choral rock, which will make a lot more sense once you hear them.
Polyphonic Spree gradually became one of my favorite bands of the last 30 years, and I’ve only seen them a few times live. If you have been lucky enough to see them live with a few dozen musicians packed in stage and blasting out these tunes, then you probably know what I mean. They can’t really make a profit touring anymore (if ever), so they haven’t done it much, especially after the first few albums. If you live in Northern Texas and have been into the psychedelic music scene the last 20+ years, you may have seen them a lot you lucky bastards. I’m by no means an expert, but they do hold a special place in my heart, especially the first 3 albums and of course their live shows.
Here is some background taken directly from Wikipedia:
“Tim DeLaughter’s previous group, Tripping Daisy, came to an abrupt end in 1999 when guitarist Wes Berggren died of a drug overdose. The Polyphonic Spree was formed, in part, in reaction to Berggren’s death.
In 2000, DeLaughter collaborated with 12 other musicians to put together a sound that reflected the music he grew up with. He wanted to explore the orchestral palette and pop sensibility of The Beatles, The Association, The 5th Dimension, Wings, Electric Light Orchestra and The Beach Boys and the vocal style of Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath. Within two weeks, The Polyphonic Spree created a 30-minute set, donned their signature white choir robes and performed with Grandaddy and Bright Eyes.
Shortly after their first show, 12 more musicians joined the band, and they recorded The Beginning Stages of … The Polyphonic Spree, which contained all nine songs (sections) written for their first show plus a tenth track (“Section 10 – Long Day”) and released in 2002. In 2004, Hollywood Records released the Spree’s second album, Together We’re Heavy.”
Some people’s first and only experience with Polyphonic Spree is ‘Light and Day’ from their debut album on Scrubs:
I first heard about them after their 2003 Bonnaroo performance made some waves.
Polyphonic Spree’s 2002 The Beginning Stages… debut album was probably their critical and popular peak, and I had considered recommending that one first, but Together We’re Heavy is my favorite and more psychedelic imo. Also, The Beginning Stages…. debut has a 36-minute experimental closing track that is tough to get through and I personally don’t think it fits in with the album and overall sound of the group. I didn’t want to suggest that album but then recommend you skip the last song. Please don’t skip the last song on Together We’re Heavy as it’s one of the best.
Given the size of this band and density of the album sound, its surprising that they can play all these songs live and don’t just sound like a messy wall of noise, but the live performance was a priority from the start. There isn’t a lot of great sounding live performances available to watch, especially with songs from this album as they received more coverage for their debut album. But, they did play one of the greatest sets of Austin City Limits perhaps ever just after Together We’re Heavy debuted in 2004. It’s up there with Sufjan’s performance on the show 2-years later as my favorites. Unfortunately, only a portion is available on YouTube these days, but all of it is on audio on Spotify and elsewhere and is worth a listen if you like the studio albums:
Hanging Around the Day Parts 1 and 2 > Two Thousand Places:
Full live audio for Austin City Limits 2004:
They are also a damn good cover band. Here are a couple interesting ones:
Interesting trivia: Annie Clark (St. Vincent) was part of Polyphonic Spree touring group for a while before joining Sufjan Stevens touring group for a period as well.
Finally, here is a cool clip from a show I’m pretty sure I attended back in 2012 (Together We’re Heavy, Light & Day / Reach For The Sun, We Sound Amazed):
