The Universe "The Outer Void Intrepid Sailor"

A CD like The Universe's 'Outer Void Intrepid Sailor' should not be getting good reviews in 2006. It's not that it's a bad CD. Ont the contrary, this is currently my 2nd favorite CD of the year. It's just that it's a concept album (not cool!) about a dude who travels through space (very not cool!)

However, cool or not, I have always been an avid supporter of Electric Light Orchestra's 1983 opus "Time" and FM's classic "Black Noise". While you won't find any of these albums on any cool person's 'best-of' list, for some reason you will see Flaming Lips' 'Yoshimi..' and Radiohead's 'OK Computer' which, if you ask me, aren't that different than the aforementioned guilty pleasures. But I digress...

I was talking about this new masterpiece by The Universe, entitled 'The Outer Void Intrepid Sailor.' Although the album does follow a space theme of sorts, ultimately this is nothing more than a cleverly crafted pop album, brought to you by members of other indie bands Architecture in Helsinki, the Smallgoods and the Ca$inos. The 2nd track "The Announcement" has one of those stick-in-your-head melodies that you're sure you must've heard before, but you can't quite place it. And you hope that the song "The Radio Is Dead" is as prophetic as it sounds, because you just know that mainstream radio will not be touching this CD with a ten foot pole! That is why I recommend turning OFF the radio, and popping this slice of pop perfection into your CD player.

Goodbye mp3

Purchase "The Outer Void Intrepid Sailor" here.