Quick review: Hooray the Constantines!

I suppose my reviews of albums can be pretty long. I mean, I hate short reviews in newspapers and stuff. They might as well just give a grade, for how brief the explanations can be.

But here's a short one, for Brett.


Album: Tournament of Hearts

Artist: The Constantines

Labels: SubPop, Three Gut Records


Okay, here's The Constantines. They're Canadian. They released Shine a Light, their first album, to extreme critical acclaim. And from what I've read on the internets, Tournament of Hearts is considered a failure on the order of the second two Matrix movies.

But I disagree.

This is an extremely solid album. Most criticism says it's slow, it's boring, and it doesn't rock enough, but I would say it's really pretty. A lot of the songs are rhythm-based, with one thumping pattern holding together the whole song (See "Draw Us Lines," the opener, as well as "Love in Fear").

I tried as hard as I could to find the lyrics to Tournament of Hearts on the internet, but I couldn't. The lyrics I can understand are truly great, though. Extremely melancholy, reflective, and beautiful.

The bass and drums hold down the rhythms of each song, providing a perfect background for the raspy, Bruce Springsteen-like vocals. Meanwhile, the guitars amble around the mix, sometimes rocking, mostly experimenting or off on their own. Again, "Love in Fear" is a perfect example.

One of the problems I have with The Constantines is their song titles. Let's see...of the 10 songs on Tournament of Hearts, all 10 of them have titles that mirror the chorus of the song. I guess that's okay, but I prefer the Thunderbirds Are Now!/At the Drive-In style of choosing names that don't appear in the song.

Something I love about the songs, though, is the tightness between the drums and bass. This is especially evident in "Love in Fear" and "Thieves," in which drums and bass form such a great, close-together rhythm section that it's easy to forget how simple the songs are.

And they really are simple. Take "Soon Enough," the wonderfully heartfelt ballad-like reflection on aging. Or "Hotline Operator," a peppy, almost bouncy song about who knows what. Both are really the same basic thing throughout, but they keep the listener's attention through interesting variations.

In the end, I would have to say Tournament of Hearts is absolutely worth a listen. It's slightly morose, melancholy and contemplative, but it's still very interesting to listen to. It might be the most widely appealing, accessible music I recommend.

Grade: B+.

Track listing:

1. Draw Us Lines
2. Hotline Operator
3. Love in Fear
4. Lizavetta
5. Soon Enough
6. Working Full-Time
7. Good Nurse
8. Thieves
9. Conductor
10. Windy Road

Constantines official site

SubPop's Tournament of Hearts site

Buy Tournament of Hearts at Amazon.com