Cheer-Accident, What Sequel?

Cheer-Accident is a long-running Chicago band that’s known for complicated, intense music which embraces a wide range of abrasive sounds. What Sequel?, however, is not like most of their records, in that it’s made up of relatively ordinary pop songs. These songs do have the occasional odd detail, but nothing like what they normally do. Thymme Jones sings somewhat operatically in his usual falsetto, reminiscent of Freddie Mercury’s, but on What Sequel?, Cheer-Accident shows off other influences which aren’t usually nearly as obvious.

“You Know, You Know” has an orchestral sound, with lots of horns, keyboards, and other instruments; the whole thing sounds like the Flaming Lips playing a Billy Joel cover (fortunately, it’s better than that sounds). “Simple Life” is their big, catchy ’80s-style dance song, complete with hyper-echo on the vocals, lots of spacy effects, and the delayed, multitracked outro inspired by the synthesizers in “Baba O’Reilly.” There are also a few Zappa-esque moments throughout the album, as well (melodic touches, not lyrical touches (which is OK with this reviewer)). “Crisis Management” features a piano line that borrows heavily from Frank Zappa’s “Dog Breath Variations,” and in “Keep In Touch,” the chorus melody sounds like something from a Zappa record.

One of the big problems with the record is the singing. Thymme Jones’ falsetto isn’t incredibly expressive, and since he sings exclusively in falsetto throughout the record, a lot of the songs start to sound the same. On Cheer-Accident’s “normal” records, the vocals are just a part of the sound, but on a pop record like this, the voice is the focus, and that’s where the problem is. He also occasionally overdoes his vocals, such as on “Keep In Touch,” where some of the parts sound showy rather than interesting. Again, on a normal Cheer-Accident record, they might serve a real purpose, but here the songs are too normal to need vocal acrobatics.

It’s certainly an interesting record, and undoubtedly, fans of Cheer-Accident will enjoy the album. It does have some good songs — “A Simple Life” is fun and catchy (and one song where the falsetto works), and “Keep in Touch” is a heartfelt (and surreal) letter to long-lost friends. “You Know, You Know” is a majestic, anthemic rock song (and where the falsetto also works). All together, though, they start to sound alike. If they had been released as singles, they might be interesting, but together they weigh each other down.