twenty-something

20SUM REVIEW Damien Rice - 9 Release Date: 11/14/2006 Explicit Lyrics

This week, Damien Rice quietly (to me, at least) released a new album -- 9 -- his second full-length disc and his first studio album in almost four years.

I've been spending quality time with 9 since I scored an advanced copy last week and I have to say it's a worthy successor to his incredible debut, O, and in some cases, as a whole, I like this album better. Rice and his go-to songbird Lisa Hannigan are back for ten more lush, intense tracks and it's a powerful ride. While it may be missing a clear anthem (and O had many -- "Volcano," "The Blower's Daughter," and, especially, "Cannonball"), 9 is more consistent and I like almost all of it (whereas with O, I often find myself bored with the non-single tracks). The new release is timed perfectly, as 9 makes a perfectly atmospheric soundtrack for the cold, creeping days and the dark, long nights of November.

I found O at the tail-end of '03 ("Volcano" even got a mention in the early days of this blog) and it became one of the first albums I connected with post-college. It's deep and flawed songs of love spoke to me as I fell deeper in love with a man I shouldn't have and, despite Damien's warnings, I built my world around a volcano, a relationship I knew would never work. Almost four years later, I'm still reeling from a relationship that's been over for over a year -- I'm out of love with the man, but still dealing with the wounds and wreckage left by him as I try to negotiate new possibilities in my new life... and here comes a new Damien Rice album to speak to me again.

While that first album was largely about power dynamics in love -- the gloriously dysfunctional, unattainable, and destructive sides of lust and relationships -- this follow-up more closely focuses in on deception, insecurities, and infidelity (starting with the semi-titular track, "9 Crimes") with a bit more experience and maturity. Damien's had more experience with all of this since 2003 -- and so have I. RIce is damaged and dark -- it's part of his appeal -- and with 9 he's perhaps a bit more on the edge and, at times, over it. That's perhaps why, as a whole, I prefer this new disc to his first -- he's aged, grown, evolved. And I like to think I've done so, too. He's pissed and flawed, but he's still hopeful... because, to spite our scars from love's battles, we have to hold onto hope.

9 by Damien Rice is 20sum Approved. It's a damn good album and you should get it immediately. Hell, it's so good you should buy it, not steal it -- it's that worthy of your hard-earned cash. (Continue on for my track-by-track favorites.)