The Polyphonic Spree
The Fragile Army
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Tim DeLaughter’s merry band—which perhaps has been best described as Godspeed meets Godspell—is at it again with another priceless album of buoyant, psychedelic orchestral pop and unrestrained exuberance. And even though The Polyphonic Spree has traded its robes for black combat uniforms and a somewhat darker sound, the band is still creating all sorts of sunshine for rainy days, not unlike what might happen if you conjoined Secret Machines and The Flaming Lips and locked them in a studio full of sugary popcorn and laughing gas.“I feel so excited and delighted today/’Cause you decided to be in my life/It’s like running away with the wind in our faces/Like flying,” DeLaughter exclaims as the horns and strings explode on “Running Away,” and this sense of freedom, joy and possibility radiates throughout an album full of tales of love and hope and faith, and the magic that can happen when you have all three simultaneously.
Rousing songs like “The Championship” and “Get Up and Go” are deeply layered to inspire both goth kids and Texas high-school football teams; these songs really do make you want to accomplish something today, even if it’s just to buy the best bong ever. Depending on how seriously you take all of this, you can see DeLaughter as an inventive songwriter, a brilliant conductor, a tribe (cult?) leader, a guy who knows that he’s likely composed his way into another Apple commercial or perhaps all four. He probably doesn’t really believe that he can fly, but even if he does, he’s earned that right.