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Forgive Durden
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It seems limiting to think of Forgive
Durden’s second full-length release as a mere album – after all,
Forgive Durden mastermind Thomas Dutton conceived the recording as
a full-blown musical production, and from its dramatic narration
to its lush score to the grand-scale creation myth and love story
at its center, that’s just the experience Razia’s Shadow: A
Musical delivers. Yes, this is a CD into which you can truly
escape, an epic that’s as fitting for a club stage as it is for
Broadway -- and in an era of disposable singles, it’s also one of
the few collections of songs (or, if you want to get technical,
movements) that flow together as an essential whole.
As remarkable as the fact
that Razia’s Shadow: A Musical simply exists in 2008, however, is
Dutton’s personal journey leading up to the musical’s creation.
Though he entered the writing process with a full band, a
four-year history, and a trio of releases to his credit, Dutton
ended up being a one-man operation with a completely renewed
vision by the time he was finished. And, as with the storyline
he’d ultimately craft, Dutton also had to tear down Forgive
Durden’s existing world in order to create a bigger, bolder new
one. But that, dear friends, is a story we’ll get to soon enough.
For those who are just coming onboard, there’s some history we
ought to cover first…
Back in 2003, singer/guitarist Dutton and
three other Seattle-area friends pooled their collective
influences and, calling themselves Forgive Durden in reference to
the antihero at the center of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, began
approaching rock music with the same attention to depth, metaphor
and nuance that their literary heroes (Lewis Carroll and Steve
Aylett are two others) applied to the printed page. Not to get too
lofty about it, but as Forgive Durden’s two self-released EPs –
2003’s Bandages & Royalty and 2004’s Casey Bates (Gatsbys American
Dream)-produced When You’re Alone, You’re Not Alone – proved, this
wasn’t just another pop-rock outfit singing about their girl
problems.
Wonderland, Forgive Durden’s 2006 Fueled by Ramen debut, showcased
the creative heights Dutton and his bandmates were capable of
reaching. Again working with producer Bates, Forgive Durden
crafted a conceptual, allegory-rich journey through the album’s
fictional title city and followed the hopes, dreams, fears and
disappointments of its creator and inhabitants alike. Ambitious?
You bet – but as Wonderland’s keen balance of hooks, dynamics and
left-of-center melodies made evident, Forgive Durden had also put
together one of the richest albums to lose yourself in that year.
Others agreed, and
from 2006 to late 2007, Forgive Durden hit the road with fellow
pop/rock boundary-benders such as Say Anything, The Hush Sound,
Saosin and Gatsbys American Dream, as well as playing the Warped
Tour and enjoying a sold-out U.K. tour with Panic at the Disco.
During this time, however, the notoriously difficult transition
from “group of friends” to “active business” found tensions
building within the band, and in late 2007 Dutton found himself
taken off guard when Forgive Durden’s other three-quarters
announced its resignation.
Dutton publicly announced the split in a
January 2008 blog post, but more importantly, he also used that
outlet to open the next chapter in Forgive Durden’s story. Despite
financial debts, half-written songs, and lingering ideas of what
could’ve been, the group would continue, and with the help of his
music-composition-major brother, Paul, and longtime producer Bates
(in whose studio Dutton literally camped out for a month), Dutton
would bring to life a long-rumored musical to mark Forgive
Durden’s next chapter. “It was the craziest thing I’ve ever done,
creatively speaking,” Dutton says of the decision to head into
Razia’s Shadow, “because I realize a lot of people had this
preconceived notion of what the band should be after hearing
Wonderland. I understand that, but at the same time, I think this
record shows just how exciting it can be to let a band surprise
you.”
Like
Wonderland, Razia’s Shadow: A Musical tells the story of a broken
world and its creator, but that’s where the comparisons end.
Narrated by mewithoutYou singer Aaron Weiss – one of 12 guests,
including, of many, Say Anything’s Max Bemis; Saves the Day’s
Chris Conley; The Hush Sound’s Greta Salpeter; Panic At The
Disco’s Brendon Urie; Gatsbys American Dream’s Nic Newsham; and
The Matches’ Shawn Harris, cast in singing roles – the two-part,
14-movement musical finds Dutton and crew supported by a full-on
orchestral backdrop where previously there’d been only bass, drums
and guitar. The end result is as much Moulin Rouge (whose modern
take on the classic musical Dutton credits as hugely
inspirational) as it is C.S. Lewis, with a cast of angels,
oracles, princesses and chosen ones locked in conflict over a
divided world as the force of love struggles to unite the main
characters.
Remarkably, despite the hypnotic sitar in “Genesis” (which
features vocals from The Dear Hunter’s Casey Crescenzo), the
dazzling orchestral counterpoint in the lead single “Life is
Looking Up,” and the gorgeous string, horn and keyboard
arrangements throughout, only one guest player (Gatsbys American
Dream drummer Rudy Gajadhar) actually came in for the Razia’s
Shadow sessions. As Dutton reveals, “I realize it’s a lot more
dramatic to say, ‘We hired a full orchestra for this,’ but the
truth is that would’ve cost half a million dollars.”
Instead, Dutton used
advanced and complex samples and software to painstakingly conduct
his own virtual orchestra, and worked with many of the vocalists
remotely as they sent in their parts from outside studios. “It was
a crazy experience, but once I got into it, I was amazed at the
way it turned out. It couldn’t have happened any other way,”
Dutton notes. “Not to compare this record to the Beach Boys
musically, but in a lot of ways it was like this hyper-focused,
Beach Boys-style process, with my brother and I as this Brian
Wilson/Van Dyke Parks whirlwind team,” he laughs.
For all its inherent
complexity, Razia’s Shadow is more remarkable for the way its
songs ebb and flow so effortlessly. Melody is central to
everything, and in tracks such as the hauntingly beautiful “The
Oracle” (featuring The Audition’s Danny Stevens) and the swinging,
warmly romantic “The Missing Piece” (featuring Seattle’s own
Lizzie Huffman, of Man in the Blue Van) – Dutton weaves the sort
of ethereal, left-field melodic lines you’d expect to find in the
most gripping Björk or Queen songs. “I’m really drawn to
untraditional melodies in general,” Dutton explains, “but the idea
of a strong, central melody that holds everything together was
crucial in writing these songs – there’s no ‘weirdness for
weirdness’ sake.’”
Indeed, if there’s one element of weirdness facing down Dutton as
Razia’s Shadow: A Musical makes its public debut; it’s the idea of
just how to present this thing on a larger scale. While he won’t
give away too much about the added touches that will take Forgive Durden’s live act into the New Year (everything from costumes to
custom light shows is on the table), Dutton isn’t worried about
Razia’s Shadow making the transition from stereo to stage – in
fact, that may be the easiest part of this whole journey. “I’ve
always loved stories about people where everybody thinks they’re
not meant to do something, but they believe in themselves and
overcome adversity to do it anyway,” he concludes. “There’s a lot
of that in this record, and there’s a lot of that in me."
~
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
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