By: Darien Campo | Designer
“Dance like they are watching you – because they are watching you.”
This is one of my favorite lines from Jonathan Coulton’s brand new album, “Solid State.” The 17-track concept record tackles a story about the internet, trolls, artificial intelligence and how love and empathy will save humanity. It’s a complex, gorgeous album and a huge step forward for the internet-based musician.
In 2005, software developer Jonathan Coulton quit his job to pursue his dream of being a musician. He launched the “Thing-a-Week” project wherein he wrote, recorded and released a brand-new song every week for a year straight. Using the internet and Creative Commons licensing as his tools, Coulton managed to completely circumvent the crumbling music industry and build his own rabid fan base by writing geek-rock songs like “Code Monkey,” “RE: Your Brains” and Portal’s “Still Alive.” His 2011 album, “Artificial Heart,” broke away from the geek-focused storytelling of his previous music in favor of a more “elliptical” rock album inspired by producer John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants.
“Solid State” pushes Coulton even further from his monkey-and-zombie-song roots. While the album is a concept record, telling a very specific story, each track stands on its own without needing to be supported by the rest of the tracklist. Songs like “Brave” and “Don’t Feed the Trolls” are very reminiscent of the “Artificial Heart” indie-pop-rock vibes and are very hard to not dance to, even if they are watching you. And then there are tracks like “Wake Up” and “All to Myself” that have a very droning, Beatles-esque feel to them. “Solid State” is a wonderful blend of Coulton’s own soft-rock tendencies with a bit of synth-pop and psychedelic rock thrown in as well.
It’s a challenging album, which is a wonderful surprise, but might be a bit off-putting to some returning fans. Coulton’s previous work covered easy-to-follow, quirky narratives. Co-workers who have turned into zombies, mad scientists who fall in love with their captives – you know, the usual stuff. But “Solid State” tackles much more complex and difficult-to-parse ideas. The record follows a particular narrative, but each song’s lyrics swing wildly around what they’re trying to say.
“That’s my favorite songwriting trick,” said Coulton in an interview with Paste Magazine, “is to say a thing without saying it directly, to let something be revealed by what you’re saying rather than saying it out loud. That’s the kind of songwriting that has always delighted me, and the thing that I always aspire to do.”
“Solid State” is released under SuperEgo records, Aimee Mann’s label. Mann can be heard all throughout the album, providing backup vocals on songs like “All this Time.” Coulton and Mann also collaborated on her most recent album, “Mental Illness.” They are currently on tour together.
For fans who want a little more, Coulton also offers a companion graphic novel on his website. The comic is 132 pages long, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Albert Monteys.
“Solid State” a challenging album, and you may not like every song the first time you hear it, but this record is worth the relisten. You will find yourself discovering more and more things on every play. Coulton is ever-growing as a musician, and “Solid State” is easily his best work yet.
Contact the author at dcampo13@wou.edu
