Description
Fearful Symmetry: The “Alarma Chronicles” Volume IV is the final release of a four part series of albums by Daniel Amos entitled The ¡ALARMA! Chronicles. (¡Alarma!, Doppelgänger, and Vox Humana being the first, second, and the third installments, respectively.)
Fearful Symmetry, sub-titled The “Alarma Chronicles” Volume IV, is the seventh album by the American alternative rock band Daniel Amos (though at this point the band had shortened its name to DA), released on Frontline Records in September 1986, distributed by The Benson Company. The album was recorded and mixed by Doug Doyle, Dave Hackbarth, and band member Terry Taylor at Doyle’s 3-D Studios in Costa Mesa, California; with Taylor and the band producing. All songs written by Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, and Tim Chandler.
The album title comes from a line in “The Tyger”, a poem published in 1794 by the English poet William Blake. Fearful Symmetry is a lush, synthesizer driven alternative pop album, lyrically wrapped in puzzles that the listener has to decipher. Nearly every song in some way deals with pain or darkness – from the William Blake-inspired “Sleep Silent Child”, a song about death, to “Strong Points, Weak Points”, a song about doubt. The album ends on an upbeat note however, with the touching ballad, “Beautiful One” (featuring former band member Jerry Chamberlain, as well as Crystal Lewis, on background vocals). In the words of Frontline Records’ promo ad: “Literate and artful. Poetic and intelligent. Highly creative art rock.”
Fans of Daniel Amos’ early guitar rock may regard this new wave pop album as an artistic surrender to the electronic trends of the 1980s. But this album is in fact a good deal more creative and intelligent than most of the Euro-synth music that influenced it. The band (identified only as DA this time) does invoke the computerized stylings of Depeche Mode, Human League, and Alphaville, but echoes of Pink Floyd are equally audible. Terry Taylor’s verse is at its most sublimely lyrical, describing familiar Christian theology with a fresh mysticism. In Taylor’s hands, doctrine that in lesser hands would sound sterile is full of shadows, beauty, fear, and hope. DA has made an interesting choice: to use this trendy, much-debased synthetic pop genre as a context for its most poetic material. There is a sizable dose of Taylor’s usual goofy humor and biting cleverness («Sudden Heaven» is a manic electronic hoedown; «Instruction Through Film» mocks campy ’50s educational films while taking shots at moral legalism), but there’s also a good bit of serious literary allusion (the album title is a reference to William Blake’s “Tyger! Tyger!,” «Beautiful One» paraphrases Robert Frost, and much of Taylor’s poetry evokes the spiritual awe of Gerard Manley Hopkins or T.S. Eliot). Unfortunately, the low-budget pop sound does sometimes slip into the tinny hokiness common to the lesser purveyors of ’80s pop. But DA’s high ambition never falters. [Darryl Cater, AMG]
It is usually not possible for the listening public to know in advance what the next DA product is going to be like. Not two albums have been the same. The fact that DA’s latest effort on Frontline Records, Fearful Symmetry, the fourth volume in the Alarma! Chronicles, continues this tradition is no surprise.
On the surface, Fearful Symmetry, appears to be a fairly simple album. Each song comes across musically straightforward, yet just beneath this calm surface runs a current of amazing intricacy. These ten tunes which seem so simple are alive and teeming with complexity.
Terry Taylor, who is vocalist in addition to his work on guitars and synths, composed or co-composed all ten tunes and wrote all the lyrics. Taylor’s penchant for sarcasm and obscurity is near legendary. On Fearful Symmetry his pen and wit are as sharp as ever. The puzzle for you and me to figure out is just what is the Fearful Symmetry which binds all these songs together. The most likely possibility which presents itself is that of darkness and light. That is to say that for every truth there is a lie. For every strong point there is a weak point.
As one example, there is «Neverland Ballroom». Musically it is a dance tune. Very upbeat. Very quirky. A song you might like to hear when you are out at a party. Lyrically, however, the song is a strong warning against temptation. The things that often look so appealing yet are full of death and destruction lead straight to the “Neverland Ballroom.” “Won’t see the sun again,” the prophet sings, “once they dance the Neverland Ballroom.”
Another example of the Fearful Symmetry of our lives is the tragically beautiful «Sleep Silent Child». Here DA tells us of the death of a child. Not the usual pop tune fare. Yet even in the death of the child there is a solemn, sober, sad kind of joy as the child steals away “to starry fields … another bright heart in God’s embrace.” The song begins in a cacophony of drums and voices. From the chaos emerges the parent’s voice with his words of sorrow and joy. DA faces honestly the pain of death, yet not without hope.
Nearly every tune on Fearful Symmetry in some way deals with the darkness of our lives. Be it sin («A Sigh for You»), pain of death («Sleep Silent Child»), doubt («Strong Points, Weak Points»), or perverting and misrepresenting the gospel («Instruction Thru Film»). Every theme is dealt with openly. At the same time there is never any doubt about the fact that the members of DA are Christian believers. Their faith infuses even the darkest fears and doubts with assurance and hope. The end result is that both sides of the coin are affirmed as realities in the lives of believers. It is no empty chatter for DA to tell us that God is present even in the worst moments. They give us a sense that they have been through the fire and they know what they are saying.
Most DA albums in the past basically have been Terry Taylor products. He often wrote lyrics and composed music for most if not all the songs on an album. With Fearful Symmetry, DA breaks into a new direction. All the players play more than one instrument. Ed McTaggart plays drums, as wonderfully and solidly as always, but also contributes on percussion and synthesizers. [Harvest Rock Syndicate, 1986]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/fearful-symmetry/386208522)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1.”A Sigh For You” – 3:58
A2.”The Pool” – 3:47
A3.”Sleep, Silent Child” – 4:38
A4.”Neverland Ballroom” – 3:17
A5.”Strong Points, Weak Points” – 3:55
Side Two
B1.”Instruction Through Film” – 3:20
B2.”When Moonlight Sleeps (On The Frosted Hill)” – 3:55
B3.”Sudden Heaven” – 3:23
B4.”Shadow Catcher” – 4:32
B5.”Beautiful One” – 3:33
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Frontline Records.
DA: (L-R) Ed McTaggart, Tim Chandler, Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor.
CREDITS. Produced by Terry Taylor and DA. Recorded and mixed by Terry Taylor, Doug Doyle and Dave Hackbarth. Recorded at 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa, CA. Mastered by John Matousek at Hitsville, Los Angeles, CA. All arrangements by DA. Cover concept by DA. Photography by Derrill Bazzy. Photographics by Derrill Bazzy and Ken Baley. Band photos by Linda Dillon Baley. Art Direction and Layout by Mr. Ed (McTaggart). ¡Alarma! Chronicles Text Volume 4 by Terry Taylor and Greg Flesch. All lyrics and music written by Terry Taylor except music co-written with Greg Flesch (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B3) and Tim Chandler (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B4).
Musicians: DA – Terry Taylor (Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica, Synthesizers), Rob Watson (Keyboards, Snares on track A3), Greg Flesch (Lead Guitar, E-Bow, Synthesizers, Pump Organ, Dulcimer, Mandolin), Tim Chandler (Electric and Upright Bass, Electric Twelve-string Bass, Guitars), Ed McTaggart (Drums, Percussion, Synthesizers). Additions: Alex MacDougall (Percussion), Crystal Lewis (Backing Vocal on track B2 and B5), Jerry Chamberlain (Backing Vocal on track A5 and B5, Narrator on B1), Dave Hackbarth and Doug Doyle (Synth treatments on track A1 and B3).
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