Release Date: (2003)
Label: Northern Records
Producer:

December Hotel
Overall Rating:  ++++

This album came pretty much out of nowhere. Released last November on Northern Records with little ado. I finally heard about All Things Bright and Beautiful when looking at the bands on the schedule for this year's Cornerstone Festival. A couple mp3s on their webpage got me hooked and a few weeks later here I am reviewing the album.

All Things Bright and Beautiful is a project from Lee Bozeman (of Luxury). The music moves anywhere from sweet and mellow to angst-filled and raucous. The lyrics move anywhere from the apocalypse to sex. Basically, this album is all over the map but I'm pretty sure there's something that connects it all that makes Love & Affection work so well.

The music is nothing short of unique. The strangest moment has to be when a long (and admittedly boring) gospel track turns into a percussion-filled masterpiece on "The Transfiguration Parts I & II" in a song that Radiohead would probably be proud to claim. The upbeat "Attractive and Unattractive" is catchy, yet still quite unique with the role that the piano plays in the song.

"The Dead Sea" begins the album with a slow piano with Bozeman crooning, "I'll come down / Hide myself inside of your skin / Wear, wear this crown / Live the life that you have lived / 'Cos this won't do, not for you." The next several songs deal with the stuff of life, with a Christian trapped in the world, yet trying to please God all the while. This makes a song like "Post-Modern Love" all the more heartbreaking as Bozeman sings, "There is within me a life of pornography" and goes on to say, "I raped her with my mind / Then went home to my loving wife." The laughter at the end of the track reveals the sense of shame buried within before the song segues into "Attractive and Unattractive" which deals with the pressures of popular culture: "Turn to the right it's more attractive / Wear suit and tie, loosen your grip."

The songs that follow deal with similar themes. Near the end of the album Bozeman reveals the spiritual side longing for something more in "Make Me a Blessing." The closing track "Wedding Feast of the Lamb" ties everything together as we see the modern Christian's struggle in a nutshell: "I sleep soundly with my wife / My children never fight, fight, fight, fight / And I wake happy / Wash my body / Being careful to make sure I'm sex-free." The song concludes with the words "She'll tell me her story of sorrow and suffering / She'll tell me it's so sad the way we've been acting / For we are surrounded by thousands of liars / That sing lovely songs in a river of fire / That flows from the hand of the Father."

This is an important, revealing, moving album that speaks in ways that few other album can. Lee Bozeman makes a dangerous move in laying it all out on the table here and has crafted something that will keep me coming back for more years from now.

~ Trae Cadenhead

Lee Bozeman of Luxury has ventured to the unknown on his solo debut Love And Affection. Choosing to artistically approach his music as a project with a name other than his own, he has created a collection of songs that are both strikingly beautiful and deeply haunting. Lee recruited Chris Barron (piano), Frank Lenz (drums), and Andy Prickett (guitars, bass, keys, engineering) to help create the musical landscape he envisioned. The result is a glorious bent of moody, lush instrumentation that ebbs and flows to the nature of Lee’s lyrical themes which range from love, marriage, and lust (“Post-Modern Love”, “Attractive & Unattractive”, “A Happiness”) to the rapture of the saints (“Third Trumpet. Fourth Trumpet Sounding”, “Wedding Feast Of The Lamb: First Movement”). The vocals on Love And Affection are stunning, with Bozeman’s tenor both soaring and refrained, akin to a Kid A era Thom Yorke or an ancy Brett Tohlen (of Lewis) with the lyrical contemplation of a Control era David Bazan. The vibe relayed is one of passion and frustration, and the cinematic aural presence only adds to the dense tension surrounding the record. While the final product is one of master execution, Love And Affection might be a bitter pill to swallow, as its split personality makes it one of the most challenging and refreshing recordings of recent years. The artwork also contributes to the theme and visual concept of the project, showcasing illustrated bookends. There is an obvious similarity to Luxury with All things Bright And Beautiful, but not to the extent that there is with most front men who journey into a solo career. Lee’s new creation is much more liquid than solid and has a charming yet sublime appeal that rock records have difficulty conveying. In a perfect world, weary Radiohead fans would clutch this CD like a life raft in a sea storm. Sigur Ros fans would abandon false pretense and embrace the stark imagery of Bozeman’s struggles. Indeed, there is light on the other side of the tunnel. There is hope for indie rock. There is a record called Love And Affection. This is a brilliant and amazing debut.

~ Garrett