Blue October’s fifth CD Foiled was introduced to music fans at SXSW (South By Southwest Music Festival) this past March when the band played several tracks from the current release.  Foiled follows on the trails of Argue With  A Tree (2005), History For Sale (2003), Consent To Treatment (2000), and their full length debut album The Answers (1998).  Each successive release broadened their fanbase from where they started in the clubs of Houston, Texas to across the US.  Foiled was produced by the band’s long time collaborator David Castell with the assistance of Chuck Reed and Patrick Leonard.

There is a Peter Gabriel style groove imbedded in the atmospheric mists and tailored movements with a likeness to Genesis and Radiohead threading through the tracks.  The melodies range from serene and gentle to abrasive and crude.  Band members Justin Furstenfeld (songwriter, lead singer, guitarist), CB Hudson (guitarist, vocals), Ryan Delahoussaye (violin, mandolin, piano, vocals), Matt Noveskey (bass, vocals), and Jeremy Furstenfeld (drums, vocals) composed an album that paints a number of complex human emotions with music scores.  Blue October manages to find the words and chord expressions that communicate emotions which are tangled and often go on unseen and treated as invalid.  There is a perception in Blue October’s words that require a higher consciousness of understanding like in the song, “She’s My Ride Home.”

We talked/Together sharpening a knife/ Like killing partners for a life/Hey, we can hide the bodies on the ride home/ Now here we are, we’re licking skin to wipe us clean/ Strike a match point gasoline/….Set fire to everyone around but you.

They are words that many relationships can relate to where the partners are hurt and react with aggression.  Justin’s vocal delivery is very expressive tensing the notes on emphasized emotions and releasing the rage in other sections.  There is a sense that the listener is being brought into the drama during the acting out of the scenes through the vocal melodies, a method used by Marilyn Manson to convey the song.

The song “Into The Ocean” benefits from the synth treatments along the melodic lines as it’s pervaded by squirts of violin interludes and soothing drum series while the vocals move with a hip hop rhythm.  “What If We Could” opens with a dulcet violin piece that rolls into the taut guitar strumming and heavy drum thumps creating a circling effect around the manic vocal streams.

“Hate Me” is a throbbing piece that gels a soft intro of a concerned mother’s voice with a series of mild instrumentation which builds up to a peak in the chorus expanding to wider coloring, vibrations, and deeper vocal timbres.  The drum successions act as walls of fortification for the piece, containing the instrumentals, movements, and vocal streaks.

“Let It Go” has a mellow tempo with sparse instrumentals giving the vocals center stage.  The bridge unfurls with a harmonica segment and rustling mandolin moans.  The track “Congratulations” features Imogen Heap’s soft voicing on harmony which ornaments the piece with delicate vocal extensions that grab the listener.  “X-Amount of Words” is suffused with techno-pop club beats, robotic vocal rhythms, and mechanical sequences that jangle through the melody’s transitions.  “Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek” is a tensed up number with shimmering guitar lines and light drum taps that offset the clinching vocal pleats, although it all turns to a chilling, pulverizing, chain-saw grinding through the chorus.

Contrastingly, the final track “18th Floor Balcony” is a gentle and loving ballad with serene instrumentals and calming movements making use of injections from tambourine and violin segments and soothing guitar chord continuums.  The vocals recite as if at peace when Justin sings:

We talked, moms and dads, family past/ Getting to know where we came from/ Hearts were on display/ Go off to sleep/ I can’t believe this is happening to us/ I raised my hands as if to show you I was yours/ That I was so yours for the taking/ And I’m still so yours for the taking/ And that’s when I felt the wind pick up/ I grabbed the rail while choking up/ No words to say, and then you kissed me.

Blue October’s fifth album shows their level of experience, maturity, and an ability to communicate expressively through their music passages.  The album swells with emotion and ventures into uncharted terrain for the band.

Delahoussaye says on the band’s website, “This really is our best record yet. We’re more accomplished in fine-tuning the way we want things to sound and what our mission is.”

CB Hudson adds, “It’s all real life experiences everyone can relate to…Our music touches people in the heart, I’m really proud of that.”