Morel – The Death of the Paperboy

The first couple spins of Morel’s double album, The Death of the Paperboy, were quite confusing. At times it seemed like the collection wanted to be a rock album, at others a sort of electronic compendium … but not really. After checking Morel’s discography and perusing all the acts he has done remixes for, it makes more sense now. But considering he’s worked with artists ranging from Tina Turner to t.A.t.U, from the Pet Shop Boys to KoRn, all that really says is his tastes are as varied as the offerings of an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Is that a good thing? Yes and no.

On the first disc, we’re treated to an assortment of songs that dance from one random subject to another. Disco and drug-induced memories, dreams that are preferable to reality, feelings of unspeakable freedom being just around the corner… these are but a sampling of the subject matter found throughout. Aside from the title track—a somewhat epic songscape about the myriad ways people react to the death of someone they recognize but don’t really know—a lot of the songs wander in no discernible direction.

A lot of the disc goes by at a middling tempo with no real sense of urgency. Morel’s vocals don’t do much to distract from the music, but they don’t add much to most of the songs either. His sound isn’t tone deaf but it’s certainly toneless in its almost complete lack of inflection. There are times when this works, as in the driving “Falling Off the Verge,” but the vocal limitations are most evident on this disc’s most beautiful track, the piano ballad “The Start is the End.” On the whole, Morel does very little to augment the music with his vocals, almost to the point where it might have been wise to leave out vocals altogether.

The second disc, cleverly titled disc-0, is the dance remix disc. Seven of the eight songs on this disc take material from disc-1 and give them a disco feel. Remixes are a tricky business because oftentimes there is no real reason to rework the original song, except for the possibility of making some extra coin. For every “Blue Skies” remix, which takes the original song and pleasantly puts it on its ear, there are dozens of dreadful remixes that do nothing whatsoever.

Thankfully, disc-0 is decidedly better than disc-1. Among the many chunky, danceable grooves to be found here is a tasty, euphoric version of the album’s title track. “Shoegazer Disco (The Death of the Paperboy Dub Mix)” is perfect club fodder with its 140bpm, echoing male vocals and a gorgeous piano loop throughout. Morel slows the song down in the middle to point out how the smallest moment can change your life and blow your mind if you just keep your eyes open long enough to see it. Lyrically, this is about as deep as the album gets, and while it gets there once or twice more throughout this album, it does make you wonder why Morel didn’t come back to more of this.

The Death of the Paperboy is an odd album. The remix disc is clearly where Morel’s comfort and talent lay, but disc-1 at least demonstrates a desire to not want to do the same thing all the time. Trouble is, this material doesn’t create a lot of interest. It drones on and doesn’t change much throughout the record, so there is little that stays with you afterward. The remix disc on the other hand is full of energy and vitality. Quite frankly it saves the album as a whole from being a waste of time.

If you can score the remix disc by itself, go for it; if you can’t, buy the album and chuck the first disc.

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