By Bryan Menegus
Cursive frontman Tim Kasher confesses that “I’m at my best when I’m at my worst,” on ‘From the Hips,’ the second track on their sixth proper album, “Mama, I’m Swollen,” and stumbles upon a striking piece of self-awareness; that his most inspired work with Cursive coincides with his moments of great personal tragedy. Both “Domestica” and “The Ugly Organ” (their third and fourth albums) sprang from seeds of discontent in Kasher’s personal life-a messy divorce and a collapsed lung, respectively. Cursive was capable of cranking this pain through booming amps, searing cello and shredded throats, into a cohesive and powerful sound which balanced emotion and lyrical prowess with inventive musicianship. However, on “Mama, I’m Swollen,” the angular barks and snarls that once follow Kasher’s vitriolic delivery like well-trained Dobermans have been traded for the safety of lush orchestration and slick production. Fortunately, Cursive still possesses its famous attention to detail, one of the qualities that initially set them apart from the pack, but the virtue they’ve lost in this latest release is the human quality of their lyrics. The enlightening but approachable words which gave the band the gravitas that their music required have fallen from artistic to pedantic, continuing the shift toward polemics they made with their fifth release, “Happy Hallow.” On these last two albums, the point of Kasher’s acid pen has abandoned the cold comfort of self-loathing, and found a new home in religion. While loss of religious conviction is no new topic for the band, “Mama, I’m Swollen” no longer delivers its message in subtle hints, but instead kicks them lead footed into the head of the listener. The recurring idea-escape from the constriction of religion into a naturalistic hedonism-becomes quite stale by the third track and single, “I Couldn’t Love You Anymore,”if for no other reason than because it’s nearly identical to the subject matter of “Happy Hallow.”
Taken out of the context of Cursive’s fifteen years of work, “Mama, I’m Swollen” stands (crawls) as an above-average effort. While the album sags heavily in the middle, leaving “Donkeys,” “Caveman” and “We’re Going to Hell” utterly forgettable, Cursive hurtles out of the gate with “In the Now,” like a wrecking ball headed for St. Mark’s Cathedral. The following two tracks sonically piece themselves into the album, maintaining a simultaneously driving and thoughtful introspection. They manage to snap back by the last three tracks. “Let Me Up” promises the listener a return to vitality, and the booming drums of the title track delivers. The catharsis of the final cut, “What Have I Done?” which feels equally reminiscent of the closer on their 2003 release, “Staying Alive” (no, not the Bee Gees song) and David Bowie’s “Rock n’ Roll Suicide,” caps off the album on a high note. Enjoyable enough in its own right, “Mama, I’m Swollen” only fails because it cowers under the gravity of Cursive’s other momentous and groundbreaking work. Those new to Cursive’s music should have no trouble enjoying this latest release, but anyone looking for the quality of work that’s come to be expected of them will only find subtle disappointment.