via//chicago

Evaluating the Teargarden Part 3: A Stitch In Time

As Billy rolls forward, however slowly, as does via//chicago in evaluating his latest opus. With this we are into track three.

EP #1, Track #3: "A Stitch In Time"
We began this journey with an epic track that showcased Billy's guitar fireworks and love of classic rock, followed by a pop tune that recalled some of his better moments without quite reaching the same heights. And now the third track shows off the introspective, acoustic side of Corgan's songwriting that we've often encountered before via songs like "Disarm" and "Thirty-Three". Again, not a bad thing in and of itself, Billy has managed to toss out his share of simple gems in this department (oh if only more of that fantastic Djali Zwan stuff would have been released!). "A Stitch In Time" starts off promising, with a pretty strong guitar melody accompanied by what I can only call some sort of twisted string instrument that sounds sort of like a calliope. Billy's vocals kick in, again really dominant in the mix, perhaps too much so, but we get a little hint of sitar floating around in the background to spice things up a bit. The weird instrument from the intro comes back in, except now it pretty clearly sounds like some sort of keyboard setting. These three instruments make up the bulk of the song and set a pretty steady course from the start from which it never bothers to deviate, which is actually fine for this song, but I find myself wishing for some sort of twist thrown in - maybe a shift in time signature, or an unexpected guitar solo, something. Lyrically, well, maybe it's best not to dwell on those too long. As often as Billy is able to wrench real emotion out of remarkable imagery ("Muzzle", "For Martha"), he also can use his distinct voice to smooth over some real clunkers that amount to not much more than strung together platitudes. Unfortunately, this one clearly falls in the latter camp. I do like the sitar and the even keel of the acoustic guitar actually gives this sort of a hypnotic vibe that fits in well with all of the sailing and ocean references throughout the first three songs. I think this will fit in well once dropped in to the overall but picture, but as a stand-alone song that fans have been waiting over a month to hear, it is a bit of a disappointment in that regard. Not terrible, but certainly the least "repeat" worthy song we've heard from the project so far.

Rating: 6.7/10.0