[rating=3.00]
Epigene’s A Wall Street Odyssey (The City, The Country, and Back Again) is not your average release. It is rather a double album/rock opera/illustrated book/political manifesto/journey toward compassion by husband and wife team of Sean Bigler and Bonnie Lykes. The discs come imaginatively packaged and gorgeously bound as a hand drawn short story told through the album lyrics. A man named Yossarian rises through the ranks of Wall Street, earning a fortune, only to succumb to paralyzing stress that burns him out. He falls prey to drug addiction and homelessness before being discovered by his brother on a city street. He is brought to live on a commune in the country and is educated in the evils and inequality of the world. Soon he experiences a radical perspective shift, even transcendence, and longs to bring these new ideas to the world he left behind. By the final track, after his preaching falls on deaf ears, the “enlightened” Yossarian embraces real love by releasing his attachment to changing others in “To Each His Own”. “A truth came to me so profound/And so I laid my burden down/Enlightenment of humankind/Only a burden in my mind”.
The music is a sprawling mélange of styles over the course 25 tracks. Bigler and Lykes manage to intelligently and creatively express their concerns for the state of our world by musing their way through indie pop, indie-in-dub, horn barks, prog rawk, electronics and Riot –grrrl touchstones. There are robotized political speeches atop glitchy musical mash-ups, straight ahead rockers, electro-clash squalls and an overall heady tone to undertaking. While its tough to conceive of returning often to this collection due to its vast scope, Bigler and Lykes deserve much respect for their ambition, creativity, and passion. Solid musicianship and production qualities make the record more than just a D.I.Y. declaration. Kudos for creating an interesting musical tour told through the journey of one man transcending our broken society and his selfish desires.
