It has been 14 years between drinks for James Iha solo albums but there’s no denying the man is prolific.
The artist is known for being a former member of The Smashing Pumpkins plus one-part of A Perfect Circle and supergroup Tinted Windows, as well as owning a label and a studio.
But all of this comes with a weight of expectation meaning many fans would be anticipating loud alt-rock or prog music or at least electric guitars. But they’ll find themselves sadly mistaken.
Iha’s sophomore effort is very similar to his solo debut and his recent film scores in that it’s soft rock and folk pop driven by love, acoustic guitars and mini-orchestras. It should mean the 14 tracks are varied and interesting but instead, these smooth, mid-tempo sounds seem too one-directional.
“Make Believe” is a meek lullaby that sets the scene while “Summer Days” seems sweet if not too dreamy and sugary. The latter factor is also the case in the twee, “A String Of Words”.
Look To The Sky’s biggest issues are that Iha’s thin vocals cannot carry these melodious songs and they themselves suffer from some overly simplistic and predictable lyrics. This wouldn’t be a problem if they were being yelled amidst an avalanche of volume and guitars but the music is so quiet it only highlights the problems posed by a guy who should’ve known better.
It’s not like Iha didn’t have outside intervention. His guest list includes Karen O and Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tegan & Sara’s Sara Quinn, The Cardigan’s Nina Persson and Television’s Tom Verlaine, among others.
James Iha seems like a nice guy who is content to be an understated artist and his album is a reflection of this. It’s just a shame that these pleasant songs are too soft and inoffensive to really cut through.
