Ed Harcourt Tells Beautiful Lie
UK Songwriter's Latest Album Finally Sees Stateside Release
Jul 14, 2008
Ever since his 2000-released Maplewood EP, UK songwriter Ed Harcourt has steadily put out albums full of shimmering chamber pop that only improve with each release. With The Beautiful Lie, Harcourt proves he isn't finished evolving his sound.
Originally released in the UK in 2006, The Beautiful Lie finally saw its US release in June 2008. The album cover--featuring Harcourt playing an upright piano underwater--is an appropriate image accompanying the 14 lush songs contained therein. Like his previous three albums, Harcourt strives to create dense piano-driven rock songs that hinge on his unique storytelling approach.
Harcourt's Somber Songs Buoyed by Lush Production, Keen lyrical Sense
Harcourt kicks off the festivities on a foreboding note with "Whirlwind in D Minor," a pulsating rocker anchored by a Spanish guitar and pedal steel. "The whole town nearly died when rocks flew from the sky," Harcourt sings in falsetto, offering a somber opening image. The track fattens out with a distorted electric guitar, over which Harcourt ponders his own mortality.
"Will you love me when I'm old, I'm still hoping I can get that far," he sings. "I sit outside watching falling stars, playing D minor chords on a Spanish guitar."
In what could be construed as a personal musing of the war in Iraq, Harcourt sings on "Visit from the Dead Dog" of seeing unwanted funerals and a world in which people die for the faith. The lyrical content could prove burdensome if it weren't for the bouncy, nearly ebullient backing tracks. Meanwhile, "You Only Call Me When You're Drunk" adds a string orchestra to the mix, while Harcourt laments an old friend who literally only calls him when inebriated. The song swells to a drum-and-bass climax, with Harcourt screaming the title over and over again.
The Beautiful Lie Balances Grandiose Rock Songs with Intimate Ballads
Just when the busy production borders on self-indulgence, Harcourt reins in the proceedings with the fragile, fingerpicked "The Last Cigarette." A revelatory song featuring only Harcourt's acoustic guitar and wife Gita Harcourt's violin, the track offers vignettes of a soldier, a hospital patient, and young girl facing the end of their lives, each one looking forward to their "one last cigarette." It is a devastatingly vivid picture of three characters at the end of their days, and Harcourt's storytelling shines thanks to the simple instrumentation.
The balance of "The Beautiful Lie" seesaws between grandiose rockers and intimate ballads, showcasing Harcourt's prolificity and obvious affection for different musical styles. Thankfully, his keen lyrical eye and a loose production ethic that emphasizes his mellifluous tenor keep these disparate songs from creating an all-out smorgasbord. In the end, "The Beautiful Lie" is the best musical snapshot yet of a songwriter unwilling to disembark from his rapid growth arc.
