Who’da thunk that the guy responsible for sweet songs from Thomas and the Magic Railroad and The Big Bang Theory and lines like “Chickity China the Chinese chicken/You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin” that’ll forever be burned into the very being of every Gen X/Y something or other would be responsible for an album that’s part Devo meets The English Beat with some Elvis Costello thrown in for good measure? Because that’s what you get on Discipline: Heal Thyself, Pt. II. Yeah, I don’t believe it either
First single “White Noise” is a politically-charged wake up call set to a fun soundtrack but the real exploration starts as soon as “Nothing Special’ begins the album as Page spouts lines like “Children starving in the desert sun/Look out junior, mother’s got a gun/When’s the actor going to drop the bomb/Or will this be another Vietnam?” amidst a pulsating backbeat bringing to mind “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” at times.
And things get even better from there!
“Feelgood Summer” is a sweeping, Latin-flavored banger replete with a horn section while “Where Do You Stand” is a piano-driven number which brings to mind “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “One More Minute (In tone, not content) that swells with horns and strings. “Gravity” is another flamenco-inspired jam with Page utilizing all his vocal tricks going for screams and croons and a guttural bellow leading into the aforementioned lead single that opens as Page declares: “Shit’s about to get nice/Shit’s about to get real fucking nice right now”
Yes, kids, there’s cursing on the album.
Which brings us to “You Fucked Yourself”, a swear-laced tirade set to the sweetest sounds around. It’ll make you chuckle, it’ll make you think. Like most of Discipline…
But I digress.
“Done” is a somber affair propelled with something akin to a piano concerto contained within while “Whistling Through The Dark” is kind of heavenly, swaying in an almost dream state as trumpets and guitars and strings flow in and out of the mix. And wait! Is that a flute, too? You bet your butt it is! And like all good things, the album must eventually come to an end as this one does when “Looking For The Light” grooves its’ way into your ears with a sanguine song to conclude it all.
Discipline: Heal Thyself, Pt. II is out on September 14th and you can get your pre-order on now by clicking here or here. For more on Steven Page, including where you can catch him on an extensive North American tour starting soon, head on over here.