Two five star albums in a matter of days? Oh, go on then… This record is nothing short of jaw-droppingly amazing. Words really do not do this justice. If you thought ‘Dream To Make Believe’ was a great record, just wait until you get a hold of ‘What To Do When You Are Dead’. Concept albums are usually overly verbose lyrically and/or spaced out musical journeys that lose many of their passengers along the way. Not so for Armor For Sleep – if you ever needed further proof that Ben Jorgensen was a genius, then this is it. The basic concept of this record is the journey a single person takes from his death, all the way through regretting what he has done, attempting to make contact with the living and his eventual journey into the afterlife. It’s an acid trip without the nasty side-effects…
‘What To Do When You Are Dead’ starts off with the suicide of the narrator. ‘Car Underwater’ tells the tale of a chap who decides to end his life by driving his car into a river, resulting in death by drowning. Throughout this record the lyrics tell a first person story of the deceased’s thoughts and feelings. The opening line of “believe the news, I’m gone for good, call off the search, no-one will know that I am down here” is as powerful a start to a record that I can remember. And it’s not powerful in the heavy sense, more the emotional side. As Ben later sings “please forgive me” as the vocalist begs for compassion for killing himself, you cannot fail to fall for this record’s charms. ‘The Truth About Heaven’ picks up the pace, following through from his death and showing an almost regretful tone about what he has done. “I’m miserable up here without you – don’t believe that it’s better when you leave everything behind” is perhaps the best anti-suicide line in a song this year.
And so this album goes on. I could bore you all and go through this record track by track – not because it needs to, more because I feel compelled to. ‘Remember To Feel Real’ adds more to the background and suggests why the narrator felt the need to kill himself, while ‘Awkward Last Words’ literally begs for his life back. Again Ben Jorgensen uses the start of his song to really ram home the point, making maximum impact. The mood of the record turns by ‘Stay on the Ground’, and by the time ‘A Quick Little Flight’ flies past – incidentally this track records how the ghost tries to make contact with living beings – the pace has really slowed down. The realisation of being dead hits home during ‘Basement Ghost’, while the closing ‘The End Of A Fraud’ documents the final steps into the afterlife. “I’m leaving again, for the second time around.”
I haven’t even mentioned the artwork yet, which is also amazing. I love it when bands pay extra attention to detail and AFS do this in abundance. The lyrics are included to tell the story of death to the trip to the afterlife, while the accompanying photographs – and especially the colours they are shot in – add an extra dimension still. Then there’s the ‘comprehensive guide to your afterlife’ booklet – a step-by-step guide to being a ghost. Such imagination cannot fail to captivate anyone with a pulse. I could write thousands and thousands more words, but I’d never find the phrases to say exactly what I think about this album. All I can do is urge you to buy it – I doubt you will be disappointed.
www.armorforsleep.com
Equal Vision Records
Paul