Wheat and a One Inch Square

The new Wheat album I prophesied finally dropped on May 22nd, but I heard nary a thing about it until last week when I found a promo copy in the used section of Relative Theory Records. I haven't posted about it until now because, honestly, I wasn't as happy about it as I wanted to be the first time through. The second listen really came on strong as I realized its merit, a vibe and result very different from Per Second, Per Second...Every Second, a record the band hated for its polish and major-label pop direction. To be frank, it upset me when I read about that debacle because I thought they sold all the fans who really enjoyed that album short (including myself). I always wondered if their response had been different if the album had actually sold a bunch of copies. I mean, it's not like the company forced them to write those beautifully developed but tastefully restrained pop songs in the first place.

The record's title (everyday i said a prayer for kathy and made a one inch square) is "about remembering through a ritual. We lose things we love, sometimes, in life. People turn corners and things change... Then we decide to make a square, simply to remember - or hope, maybe."

It is about the remembering. It's a retreat to things familiar to the heart. It's surely not as easily accessible as Per Second..., but with some searching, yields a few songs I would classify as great. Songs that, in just the right light, might start to explain what the band was talking about in wanting to remember what Wheat was all about back before all the pop and drama. Sure, there's still a pop element - there always was - but these tracks burn more, searching your edges for cracks to seep into. This record is flawed, just like you and me, just like the band, just like it should be.

Listen:
What You Got
Round In the Corners
[from everyday i said a prayer for kathy and made a one-inch square|buy]