THIS CONSPIRACY AGAINST US by ELDRIDGE RODRIGUEZ
— You and Me —
— Stillborn in New Jersey —
— Next Year’s Prom Song —
— You Get What You Want —
— Tirefire —
— Track 14 —
— The Deal Breaker —
— Planets Fall —
— Black History Month —
— Lexington, KY —
— Parade of the Saddest Girls —
— This Conspiracy Against Us —
— Why I Fear the Ocean —
— Break What We Can’t Take —
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MDRF009 | Feb 2007 | 51:01 | Full Length CD
This Conspiracy Against Us is a bizarrely beautiful record. Eldridge Rodriguez sings like a cross between Nick Cave and Thom Yorke, plays guitar like a rabid Tom Waits, and writes like the working class lovechild of Rivers Cuomo and Jeff Tweedy. Each song on here is downright perfect, from the cutting “Stillborn in New Jersey”, to the spectacularly emotive “Lexington, KY”, to the post-punk “Why I Fear the Ocean”. Despite varying influences from The Fall to The Cure to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to Gang of Four, This Conspiracy… stays coherent all the way through. There are no missteps here. Everything falls into place. The album gets depressive, but it is lush throughout. Rodriguez rises above the throngs of singer/songwriters who stick with happy pop songs and pushes what a singer/songwriter should be with straightforward lyrics and simplistic guitars – and no one else sounds like him. Eldridge Rodriguez is simply too talented to ignore.
- Garrett Lyons, Verbicide Magazine
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“It’s like this. Especially with the screams and wrenching bone-deep blues on “Tirefire,” Conspiracy is a textbook lesson on how to be a true doomed crooner — E.R. takes his cues from the greats: Johnny Ray, Scott Walker, Nick Cave — where it’s never too dark or too dramatic or too painful. The play of cigarette smoke against a lone white spotlight, the glint of a crumpled shirt collar, stained with wine, a hand pressed to the brow, trying to relieve the pressure… and after songs like “Lexington, KY,” it’s quite clear why the teenagers and housewives of the world flock to ball-less eunuchs like Michael Buble as their man of choice instead of stuff like this — they want the WELLBUTRIN, not the pain. And when you’ve got a guy who will hold a kitten and wear a sweater knitted by his grandma and eat a delicious cake all WHILE singing inoffensive crap, well, you’ve certainly found a way to while away those car rides back and forth to soccer practice, haven’t you?
Eldridge Rodriguez, more well-known as singer/guitarist in the Beatings, but here just the shadowy E.R., moves away from his day job of harsh noise and here fronts a sort of East Coast Divine Horsemen, ably assisted by members of the Spanish Armada. For Conspiracy, Rodriquez uses a dark palette of cabaret noir, an underpinning of the blues, twilit country torch, and a sense of strung-out Velvetsy hopelessness – all blessed by Saint Nick (no, not that one). Smoky verses give way to great massed, singalong, desperate choruses, signing carelessly as the whole world goes to hell.
The recording is deceptively low-fi, which actually ends up giving Conspiracy a bigger, more mysterious, and intimate sound, as the ear engages directly with the sounds flowing out of the speakers. And nothing could muffle THAT VOICE, a voice way too deep and way too old and way more pained than it should be for someone so young. A young acolyte of Mark Lanegan, Chris D, and Mike Johnson, keeping the torch flickering, he delivers lyrics brimming full of “just the two of us against everyone”, and no one does that doomed Bonnie and Clyde fuck-yeahness anymore. Just a note to say that I appreciate it.
The opener “You and Me” is pure magic hour, Bad Seeds alley/junkie torch — god, no one writes songs like this anymore, total Bukowski, two down on their luck doomed lovers/users — a story song with E.R. begging his hopeless lover to leave this luckless town with him. It’ll never fucking work. And that’s why it’s so fucking romantic. Well, that and the shuffling percussion, warm blanket of organs and Rodriguez’s sepulchral voice and woozy romance. “Stillborn in New Jersey” finds Rodriguez edging toward total breakdown over a taut, Velvets-gone-country twang. Hypnotic fiddle guides along a desperate waltz and Rodriguez’s vocal histrionics, collapsing into ragged breaths echoing in his chest and throat. CONVICTION. It’s so awesomely jarring when a mock cheerleader chant by girl backup singers of “Action! Action! We Want Action!” punctures the whining of a ghostly organ, and as it builds, Rodriguez bursts in with a harrowing cry of “The quick fix! Sold! To the women who are feeling too old….” Howls of ambient feedback accompany distant rumbles of percussion on the beautifully sung piano lament of “Tirefire.” FUCK! “Track 14” reminds me of Eno’s “St. Elmo’s Fire” recast as a suicide note. “And your makeup’s caked on and your legs look strong from all the fucking with them behind your head/ How can you look at me like that, when I know all the guys you were with” is pure Lou Reed venom, accompanied by a swooning, chamber-music backdrop and a final sarcastic coda of Sha-la-la-las. “Everyone’s got a plan and everyone’s plan sucks” lifts “Lexington KY” into the sublime, with venomous lyrics accompanied by a heavily treated piano. Something for everyone, surely.” — Matthew Moyer, Ink19
“The male solo musician falls into one of two categories, generally. He's either ripping off Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith or he's backed by bored synthesizers or a bored acoustic guitar. Singer Eldridge Rodriguez successfully avoids both traps on his new album, This Conspiracy Against Us. At some points, there are echoes of Xiu Xiu; at other points, he channels Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen.
He's got that exasperated, exhausted passion pushing its way through fuzzy, mysterious instruments on every track. The songs start off simple and raw but eventually fold into epic, desperate pleas for something. I'm not sure what that something is just yet.
"You Get What You Want" is one such song, unpredictable and fascinating as it is. When Rodriguez finally leads us to the chorus, it feels like we've heard a few songs. It's exhausting. "A-C-T-I-O-N / Action action, we want action," is yelled by cheerleaders or something while he tells us we get what we want. The song slows and sounds like it's about to end while the cheerleaders yell, then Rodriguez chimes in with another verse and the song takes on a new meaning.
This Conspiracy Against Us shows Rodriguez's potential, and he has tons. It's raw and full of stumbles and uneven moments but by the end of the album, one feels like they've just been taken on a broken journey through their very depths. Pianos haunt on "Tirefire," while Eldridge pleads again for that strange something. There are songs of heartbreak and songs of unrequited love, of watching that girl from behind a wall while she sways and manipulates. "Lexington, KY" is beautiful and sad, just like a stupid plan to get her back. A harmonica is utilized on "Parade of the Saddest Girls," the track with the most interesting lyrics of the album.
Most of the lyrics are too vague and confusing to be about anything in particular. They blend together into something slightly stream-of-consciousness and intriguing. Sometimes the lyrics make it sound like Rodriguez is an amateur, but it works. This Conspiracy feels real and more DIY than any indie staple I've heard lately.
The album is sad and endearing. It's exhausting and heavy. It's brilliant, and there's a perfect word to describe it, but it's escaping me, like the album's theme. It moves subtly and steadily along towards the next desperately breathed epic. I can imagine myself listening to it while staring at the ceiling and wondering where my life's going to go next. It's a snapshot of Eldridge Rodriguez' insides, full of melancholy and optimism; he probably wrote it while staring at the ceiling and wondering where his life's going to go next.” — Space Rock City
“For those of you keeping score at home, at the moment Boston-based post-punk quartet The Beatings has almost as many side projects as band members, all of them containing a different arrangement of many of the same players. It would make for a very good Venn diagram. Things could get pretty darn hectic, as The Beatings also report they are working on a third full-length and sixth proper release, which will be the band's follow-up to last year's ambitious Holding On To Hand Grenades. In the meantime, E.R., a Beatings side project named for and featuring co-singer/co-songwriter Eldridge Rodriguez (not his real name), has issued an emotional wreck of a debut entitled This Conspiracy Against Us.
The 14 songs contained herein are not too far removed from those of The Beatings, which is little surprise considering Mr. Rodriguez's songwriting contributions. For example, E.R.'s "Why I Fear The Ocean" is melodically reminiscent of The Beatings' excellent "CoIntelPro." Although The Beatings' searing guitar assault and exorcising aggression are somewhat dialed back for This Conspiracy Against Us, a characteristic intensity remains. On "Planet's Fall" in particular Rodriguez's vocals sweat out sentiment like a pitcher of beer in the summer. If there is an element of surprise to This Conspiracy Against Us it can be found in the broader instrumentation deployed by Rodriguez and an able stable of sonic henchpersons. Acoustic guitar, violin, piano and organ serve well the quieter tunes on the set. In fact, some of its finest moments rest within the stirring ballads such as "Lexington, KY" ("Everyone's got a plan and everyone's plan sucks...") and "Tirefire," both album highlights.” — Clicky Clicky Music Blog