Strange Exchange

Description

Strange Exchange is the sixth and final studio album by the American indierock band Plankeye, released on BEC Recordings in April 2001, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. The album was produced by Chris Colbert and band members Eric Balmer and Luis Garcia. Lyrics written by Eric Balmer and Luis Garcia with music written by the band. Dedicated to the late Gene Eugene (our friend, producer and hero).

Last year Plankeye reinvented themselves from a punk-style outfit into one of the most exciting adult rock teams in Christendom. Now with a new drummer (Louie Ruiz) and guitarist (Kevin Pausch) their sound is dense, multi-layered and sonically exciting with singer Luis Garcia’s gutsy, gritty voice soaring across intelligent songs which address everything from a conversation with a friend about Christ, to stresses in relationships; to the observation in Matthew 7:24-27 that a wise man builds his house on a rock. Guitars are hard up in the mix though Beth Balmer, wife of band member Eric Balmer, surprisingly weighs in with some violin on a couple of tracks. Another excellent US band you need to catch up on. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, July 2001]

Little remains of the Plankeye who were among the earlier modern rock bands to reach the Christian music mainstream with albums like The Spark and Commonwealth. Last year’s Relocation proved an apropos title, moving band leaders Luis Garcia and Eric Balmer on to more progressive, modern rock territory, achieving an admirable sound and doing the almost impossible: resurrecting an established band with new members, and bringing it beyond its point of origin. The progress achieved with the band’s latest offering, Strange Exchange, however, isn’t as marked. The album is more a continuation of the musical ideas from the previous record, with a few experimental moments thanks to veteran producer Chris Colbert, but mostly contains clean performances, solid songwriting, and isn’t enough out of the ordinary to warrant significant attention.

Most of the album is composed of straightforward streamlined power-pop with a little bit of punk thrown in for good measure. The album opener, «This Is», is a strong one, with nice flowing melodic lines and clean guitars, in the vein of fellow modern rock act Vertical Horizon. Other tracks along the same lines are «The Meaning of it All», and «Chemicals and Sleep», which uses a nice reverb effect on rhythm guitar to set off the yearning vocals. These sort of tracks, which dominate the album, show that the band has matured, with a greater depth in both the writing and in treatment of the songs. They succeed at wringing the most from their various components, and pulling the maximum of expression out of the mix.

Although the majority of the album runs along these lines, the most evocative and compelling elements of Strange Exchange lie in the album’s final two tracks, where the crunching guitars are set aside for more sparse work, and the pieces come together more slowly. When the passion and intensity catch up with the frenetic pop exuberance of the album’s early moments, the result is mature rock, which fans of Switchfoot or more clearly The Prayer Chain will appreciate. On «The Way of the Earth», the dark bassline and melancholy cello touches bring the album together. The song develops slowly, gaining momentum as it progresses, which continues into the wrenching, eight-minute masterpiece «My Daughter». Balmer’s tortured vocals show the same quietly expressive power as on The Prayer Chain’s Mercury or other emotive offerings.

Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough moments like these, where each touch is a solid statement and the artistry of the lyrics are given chance to blend with the passion of the band’s combined force. Strange Exchange is strange indeed, ending with this intense closer, guitars and vocals strung out over a pounding rhythm section, yet juxtaposed against more compact musical ideas on the rest of the disc. The experimentation is much appreciated, but still too few and far between to be truly effective. [Glenn McCarty, The Phantom Tollbooth, 4/21/2001]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/strange-exchange/716791671)

CD tracklist:

01. This Is
02. The Meaning Of It All
03. Chemicals And Sleep
04. Let Me Be Near You
05. My Wife
06. By Design
07. Remind
08. Bring It Down
09. The Way Of The Earth
10. My Daughter

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