Reviews

Early in 2005, former Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde committed suicide, inspiring the effortlessly quick but painful writing and recording of Resolve, Joey Cape and the rest of the Lagwagon crew's full-length reaction to Plourde's death. In comparison, Bad Astronaut's closure was a much more complicated one.
 
Bad Astronaut—aside from the chance for Cape to try some songwriting that wouldn't have fit the style of Lagwagon—was formed primarily as a way for two good friends (Cape and Plourde) to make music together again. After Plourde's death, Cape resolved (no pun intended) to finish the album they had been working on for four years, officially bringing Bad Astronaut to a close. No easy task, considering only a portion of the album had been written, and even less recorded. In many cases, Plourde had only rehearsed songs and Cape decided to bring in another drummer to help finish the job. Cape and the slew of other musicians that comprise Bad Astronaut worked between the schedules of their other bands to make it possible. Cape also took on some of the production burden and agonized over the right musical decisions.
 
“Today, I finished what we started / Today, I think of better days / We have recorded your defeat / An album always incomplete”—“Beat”
 
What resulted is Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment, the last hurrah for Bad Astronaut. Unlike Resolve, it isn't a total tribute to Plourde, as many of the tracks were written before his death. However, the tracks that were obviously written later contain a number of lines as a farewell to Plourde. There are also a number of other lines that (like the name of the album itself) have taken on new, darker meanings than was their original intent.
 
In addition, the album ventures away from the previous Bad Astronaut albums, in that it sounds less experimental and more grounded in a solid rock foundation. While there are a couple faster tracks, Twelve Small Steps… is a relatively mellow album, which allows the lyrics and craftsmanship of the songs to shine. Cape's lyrics are on par with some of his best work—that is to say that they're outstanding. While the music seems fairly driving and simple at times, its complexity comes not only from the added synth sounds, but from some of the more subtle additions, rewarding for those willing to really listen to an album. Most notably, the eerie, contemplative feel of the interlude in “The 'f' word” is very minimalist but one of my favorite portions of the album.
 
While it doesn't ruin the album, it isn't hard to notice that it was written during very different emotional periods, as it has a bit of a disjointed feel to it, rather than that of a cohesive album. It's forgivable though because almost every track stands as a high-quality song on its own and a collection of 13 great tunes isn't something to complain about.
 
All in all, it feels like a safe album for Bad Astronaut, instead of venturing out into new territory. But considering the circumstances, this makes sense and it has still come together as a great album, containing some very memorable songs—a surely disappointing but fitting and solid close to Bad Astronaut.