The Polyphonic Spree

As musical expression goes, joyous rapture (i.e., spirituality) gets too good a rap. Unless it sounds like joy and feels like rapture for the listener, what's the point of putting it to music? The Polyphonic Spree, a band with more than twenty members -- including a choir -- has admirers in the mainstream music world. Unfortunately, that only exposes how gimmicky some musicians' tastes are. It's hard to imagine that people would have latched on to the Spree if it weren't so ... different. But is it really? Besides the spacey vocals and plodding tempos, Together We're Heavy sounds like a densely constructed rock album, à la the Flaming Lips or the Beatles. In fact, Spree leader Tim Delaughter plays the Beatles hand way too hard; "Hold Me Now" sounds like a rehash of Tears for Fears' "Sowing the Seeds of Love," itself a Beatles retread. Still, Heavy is a well-crafted, well-intentioned orchestral rock soundtrack for spiritual contemplation. The bright, flowing robes suggest that the Spree's members are really aliens. But what have they come for? If Heavy is any indication, it's to mellow us out.