Together We’re HAPPY!

Together We’re Heavy opens with the musical equivalent of a sunrise, and with it the 25 robe-clad members of The Polyphonic Spree bring to their new endeavor the same sparkly optimism that permeated their debut, The Beginning Stages Of…. Opening with “Section 11 (A Long Day Continues/We Sound Amazed),” this latest effort is a clear perpetuation of the Dallas music collective’s unyielding feel-good marathon.Despite their efforts to maintain continuity with their last album, and regardless of Tim DeLaughter’s Flaming Lips obsession, you’ll notice that TWH demonstrates a musical cohesion that had not quite been realized before. Though they maintain their eerily happy 60’s gospel-inspired music, the single, “Section 12 (Hold Me Now),” shows that the group can handily balance their fifteen musicians and ten-member choral section. On “Section 17 (Suitcase Calling),” the song structure elaborately twists and turns for more than eight minutes, yielding a musical buffet. It is the anchor of the album. Unfortunately, the positively charged choral deliveries that run through TWH are sprinkled through too many tracks, and as the album plays, they become less effective.

Thematically, TWH visits and revisits uplifting ideas like love and hope. With the exception of the uncharacteristically somber “Section 16 (One Man Show),” TPS can’t seem to stop smiling, and what begins with the sweetness of a mouth full of sugar soon becomes as hard to swallow as this territory wears thin song after song.

Interestingly, there are no songs that stand out as the detractors on TPS’s latest. What hurts it is the monotony. But if you’re looking to lather yourself in bubbling happiness, then push the repeat button on your CD player.