Jeremy Enigk

World Waits

(Reincarnate)

Record Review by Daniel Brody

Jeremy Enigk got his start in emo progenitors Sunny Day Real Estate, a band that has virtually nothing in common with emo as it is practiced today. SDRE was one of the strangest and most epic of independent bands in the nineties. Lead singer Jeremy Enigk was at the eye of the storm the band created, becoming a born-again Christian and breaking up the band for a while; in the interim, the rhythm section defected to the Foo Fighters. But from their debut Diary through to their last album The Rising Tide, Sunny Day Real Estate was that rare hard rock band that never sat still, their instrumental prowess getting downright proggy at times.

Which makes Enigk’s second solo album a bit of a letdown. All that high emotion sounds a little cheesy this time around. Gone from Enigk’s attack are the crunchy guitars, the sheer attack of an incredible song like Sunny Day Real Estate’s “Seven.” All of the songs on World Waits are gentle and orchestrated, complete with slick synths and what sounds like a chorus of Garfunkels singing backup. Lines like “Am I late to the kingdom of love?” presumably have the Almighty in mind, but against this musical boudoir of a backdrop they sound more like pickup lines aimed at gussied-up floozies. Enigk sings in a low, sexy voice, almost like Peter Gabriel’s little brother, with just as little room for self-awareness and irony.

With its bombastic sentiments and corny choruses and keyboards, Jeremy is channeling the eighties, and the result is an uncomfortable fit. Enigk’s straightforward emotional honesty tends to register as something more disposable, not far removed from covering a couple of Monster Ballads unplugged. The music is catchy, and sort of affecting the way “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins sort of is, but ends up lacking any real grit. Now that Dave Grohl is releasing an acoustic live album of his own, it may be time for Enigk to ask for his rhythm section back.