Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
The Helio Sequence's first two albums were dense, exciting blasts of noise, melody, and electronic wildness that seemed to jump out of the speakers. Their third album, Love and Distance, is not exciting, not very melodic, and quite mature. It is still fairly loud, dreamy rock, but the wall of sound has been pared way back and the vocals have been brought to the forefront. Instead of dreamily floating along with the waves of noise, now Brandon Summers grittily shouts over the top. The guitars no longer howl and crash about; they are layered carefully and applied cautiously. The tempos drag, the lyrics are nothing special, the electronics nothing much to care about. Instead of sounding like the teenage spawn of My Bloody Valentine and Mouse on Mars, now they sound like Radiohead's very earnest cousin. Parts of the album are even reminiscent of the Stone Roses' bloated Second Coming fiasco. It must be something about the plaintive voice and ponderous tempos, the Stones guitar riffing, the bluesy feel of songs like "People of the Secret." Growing up doesn't have to mean growing bland, but it seems to be what happened to the Helio Sequence. The music all just washes past; it's the kind of record you can sit through and at the finish not remember a thing about it. The only song that really makes much of an impression is the closing "Looks Good (But You Looked Away)." It's the kind of cosmic country that Beachwood Sparks do so well, with a very nice laid-back, outer space feel. Not exactly what the Helio Sequence used to do but better than bland. Perhaps the palpable sense of disappointment here comes from loving the band's first two records so much. Maybe to a fresh set of ears, Love and Distance might sound like an interesting take on the whole modern Radiohead-y guitar rock with electronics thing. Not as innovative as the Flaming Lips, say, but certainly better than South or Elbow. If you want to be charitable, chalk it up as a holding pattern on the way to something better, maybe even a "grower." If not, call it the death knell of the Helio Sequence. Either way, your best bet is to stick to the first two records and hope they can recapture some of their initial spark in the future.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Brandon Summers, Writer - The Helio Sequence, Musician, MainArtist - Benjamin Weikel, Writer
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Subpop Records
Album review
The Helio Sequence's first two albums were dense, exciting blasts of noise, melody, and electronic wildness that seemed to jump out of the speakers. Their third album, Love and Distance, is not exciting, not very melodic, and quite mature. It is still fairly loud, dreamy rock, but the wall of sound has been pared way back and the vocals have been brought to the forefront. Instead of dreamily floating along with the waves of noise, now Brandon Summers grittily shouts over the top. The guitars no longer howl and crash about; they are layered carefully and applied cautiously. The tempos drag, the lyrics are nothing special, the electronics nothing much to care about. Instead of sounding like the teenage spawn of My Bloody Valentine and Mouse on Mars, now they sound like Radiohead's very earnest cousin. Parts of the album are even reminiscent of the Stone Roses' bloated Second Coming fiasco. It must be something about the plaintive voice and ponderous tempos, the Stones guitar riffing, the bluesy feel of songs like "People of the Secret." Growing up doesn't have to mean growing bland, but it seems to be what happened to the Helio Sequence. The music all just washes past; it's the kind of record you can sit through and at the finish not remember a thing about it. The only song that really makes much of an impression is the closing "Looks Good (But You Looked Away)." It's the kind of cosmic country that Beachwood Sparks do so well, with a very nice laid-back, outer space feel. Not exactly what the Helio Sequence used to do but better than bland. Perhaps the palpable sense of disappointment here comes from loving the band's first two records so much. Maybe to a fresh set of ears, Love and Distance might sound like an interesting take on the whole modern Radiohead-y guitar rock with electronics thing. Not as innovative as the Flaming Lips, say, but certainly better than South or Elbow. If you want to be charitable, chalk it up as a holding pattern on the way to something better, maybe even a "grower." If not, call it the death knell of the Helio Sequence. Either way, your best bet is to stick to the first two records and hope they can recapture some of their initial spark in the future.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:46:49
- Main artists: The Helio Sequence
- Label: Sub Pop Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2004 Sub Pop Records ℗ 2004 Sub Pop Records
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.