Back in April of 2013, I was awaiting the release of what was probably my most anticipated albums in a long time, if not ever. Weezer’s “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” and The Beach Boys “That’s Why God Made The Radio” are probably the only competition to an extent, and one certainly lived up to that build up more than the other. What did happen in all 3 cases was that, after initial release, all these albums had a very strong honeymoon period. EWBAITE is still relatively fresh as I type this, while now I rarely play anything beyond the closing 4-track suite from TWGMTR. However, what became of that release on April 30th 2013 (29th in the United Kingdom) will go on as something I will never forget. And neither will those around me. The arrival of Michael Dermot’s 2nd LP “Pilot” heralded a new beginning, not only for that music that I listened to, but that which I spoke about, and the very things people related me to. “Stalker” has been uttered on many an occasion. “Obsession”. “Love” even. Whatever it is, things have a reason to happen. And in this case it was undoubtably the music.
I played Pilot incessantly. In my house. In my car. It was there. I tried to flog it off to people. Get anyone to like and listen to it. I made it my mission to spread the word, even alienating people in the process. Do I regret it? Partially, yes, but hey, the things we do for our idols. They drive us to the cosmos.
Regardless of all this, over a year has certainly passed since this record was released. I certainly haven’t played it as much as I used to recently, a factor I put down to it not being released on vinyl and other great new music being released. that’s not to say I haven’t played it much, but the honeymoon period has certainly worn off. On the very day I first heard the record, and on only my second playthrough (I must be on a few hundred now), I wrote a review of my feelings, experiences, and opinions of the then fresh tracks. I was in that early stage of listening. I didn’t know how all the songs went structurally. “Unforgiving Night” confused me. “KONTS” was a novelty in its title. “Unburdened” made reference to the cut B-Side “Pilot” (Now questionably unavailable). All these things were fresh in my mind, and some of the elements of the greater picture would more than certainly have not hit me at this point. In retrospect, it certainly feels like I should give the LP a re-evaluation - a look back at what makes Pilot remain great, rather than what made it great back in that early period.
To keep comparisons genuine, I shall take the same approach as back then - a track by track review, though my analysis will certainly take a different path. Come one, Come all…
In my original review of “Another World” I focused very little on the song itself, and more upon its the very opening and the general tone of the album vs. “Distance Reawakens”. In retrospect, what I did mention was clearly its best points. A pounding opening, which works great as an album opener, and the song has some great variance dynamically, with the soft start to the 2nd verse, and a glorious solo taking you right to the end. Lyrically, the song is also a clear statement to move on from what was, in Michael’s eyes, a weak LP in “Distance..” and deliver something far more competent in “Pilot”. However, as any true Dermot scholar would know, “Another World” was written very soon after the recording of that first album, and to an extent that certainly shines through - the song still has “the Distance melody style” (Rowland 2014), and could certainly flow stronger. However, the very competent lyricism shown, and the excellent musical ability displayed, both structurally and instrumentally, still make this a more than worthy opener to Pilot which never manages to go stale. 7.5/10
In My Mind is a song I didn’t grasp properly at first. Its happy shell did a clever job of disguising the incredibly depressing interior contained within, and still to this day it makes me smirk with joy. The intro however, as I did correctly write previously, is decidedly “massive” and a “complete change of pace” from “Another World”, but it undoubtedly works. However, once again, I did very little review wise previously, merely pointing out that which I found interesting. Yes, I pointed out all the Beach Boys references, and added the extra instrumentation that lifts the 2nd verse into “joyous” territory, but the extremely powerful chorus went unmentioned, a statement for the ages within itself - a clever take at being motivational, without actually referring to the listener, even if this was not the intended effect. Similarly, the structure is very smooth, as is the melody for the most part within the verse. The bridge too does a good job of keeping it fresh, taking a huge risk with great reward, though it does take the subtle lyricism of the chorus and make it more direct - intentional, perhaps? Self-relating definitely. This song is certainly a classic, and makes for great summer driving. Docked minorly because “...only make you lose your mind” lacks some form of punch I would have liked. 8.5/10
The transition between “In My Mind” and “No Through Road” blew my mind the first time I heard it, and it still sounds too to this day, though it certainly doesn’t retain the shock from the first listen, but that is only to be expected. it was a piece of genius then and deserves mention even now. 10/10
Now, I skimmed over “No Through Road” in my original review, probably because I had already heard it countless times already, and bar saying all it needed was the ability to “spin at 45 R.P.M. and it would be a perfect single”, I said very little. The track itself is certainly a classic, and one of the most accessible on the album. That said, I could easily say it hasn’t aged so well as I had hoped. It isn’t bad by any sense, but the verse bugs me beyond belief. Until the extra pre-chorus guitar chimes in, the ‘stop-start’ guitar and unconfident sounding vocals certainly detract from the listening experience somewhat, especially when I play it to new people. However, the rest of the song is certainly extremely strong, with the pre-chorus guitar adding a very smooth sound to the song, an extremely catchy hook, and very strong lyrics, which seem to only get better with age. The bridge also elevates the song great, with a very Spector-esque bridge, and a smooth acoustic break swiftly building up into the grandiose closing chorus. My only other complaint here is in the production. until the piano comes in under the acoustic guitar, there is significant hiss, which I can only assume is connected to the piano track, as it vanishes as soon as the instrument enters. Sloppy production possibly? 8.5/10
“Destiny Park” is without a doubt the most continuously solid and well arranged track on the whole LP, without a single flaw in sight. Regardless, it would be remiss of me to skim over it as such, as to do so would undervalue the track at hand. When I first heard this track pre-album release I didn’t like it so much. It didn’t hit so outrightly hard as “No Through Road” did in its intro, and given my limited Dermot experience, I couldn’t grasp it as such. By the time the album came around, my views had certainly improved, taking into account the tremendous dynamic shift that happens into the second chorus, and I failed to expand beyond there. This idea of a ‘grower’ is certainly key in the context of an LP. It stops an album growing stale quickly, while also showing use of less than obvious musical ideas. With “Destiny Park”, I have come to appreciate the soft start, the unusual style of guitar playing employed here, and the evolutionary structure. The first chorus has that needed lift from the first verse, while also being far weaker than the second chorus that follows it. This song is a Alternative structural masterpiece through and through, and the sci-fi lyricism caps it off perfectly, matching the unusual playing with an unusual sentiment. 10/10
As I move into the meat of the album, I get into fresher territory (at the time anyway). “KONTS” amused me at first due to the title and its confusion before listening. My original comments dealt again with the structure, while also commenting on each section as I went along. My original comments about expecting a solo confuse me in retrospect, but the bridge, which I didn’t remember well enough in my first review, certainly deserves a more detailed mention. The tempo change that occurs is a matter of pure genius as far as I’m concerned, bringing a completely new take on the song, and thus the whole latter section, a progression from the sudden change shown in “In My Mind”s bridge earlier on. I won’t lie either, the entire latter section, of self admission and mention of the now not-so-unknown Cheryl, does make me long for something similar to call my own. I mentioned it in lax terms in my old review, but with all that has passed since, it only feels more ‘right’. Alas, I guess some things probably are never meant to be… Despite this, “KONTS” is a strong ‘Rawk Music’ track, one that has certainly shown its worth in a live environment. The intro is still a favourite of mine, with a similarly great transition occurring between “Destiny Park” and this track only serving to strengthen it. On top of that, the melody is top-notch, and the lyrics, while in theory personal, can be very easily relatable, another great point. “KONTS” in retrospect is the underdog of Pilot, and needs more love. from the fanbase. 9/10
Now, “Haunted” is a track I have to look at in retrospect again. My early listens were undoubtedly tainted by the [soft version] from the No Through Road EP, and even though I make a point that this is the definitive version, that doesn’t mean my brain was completely whitewashed of the “original”. Taken from the perspective of now, I can really appreciate this track to its fullest degree. Certainly one of the strongest tracks on the LP, the “snowstorm” intro still gives me chills. I don’t know what it is about the arrangement here, but it always feels so much more grandiose and complicated than it truly is. I think it’s the simple piano part that really accentuates this, and I personally feel it to be one of the best moments on the album. Similarly, the simple organ led outro achieves the same thing - instead of going for yet another guitar solo, the song is brought down to its introspective roots, and really shines because of it. In between, the lyrics are particularly strong, describing to me, at least in my initial form, those who feel like the outcasts from everyone else - those with no more hope. And while that isn’t completely accurate, it certainly meets the song’s message of despair, which culminates in a triumphant, yet unhopeful chorus. The bridge too is one of those peculiarities. The vocal phase doesn’t make sense. And neither does the fact that the narrator wishes to go to Budapest. But it’s great. 10/10
My original views on “So Happy You’re Gone” haven’t changed much since the album’s release. I can’t hear the Oasis stylings. I can’t hear the unhappiness in the song over the bounciness of the music. But that doesn’t mean I dislike the track. While it isn’t as strong as some of the other tracks on Pilot, it certainly manages to holds its own, with some very clever lyrics (“Architects line up to knock you down/lost in your own world and you can’t be found” being a favourite) certainly giving the track a great quality, giving its roots a real personal punch. Sure, the melody might not be so flowing in the verse, but it displays how angry the narrator is at heart too. It matches what it intends to do perfectly, but it doesn’t quite have that complete magic spark to make it a perfect track. it does, however, end perfectly. 8/10
The transition between “So Happy…” and “Unburdened” originally did not sit with me at all. With time I have come to appreciate this, especially the use of dissonance, as a tonal reflection of the conflict between the optimistic chorus of the track and the extremely downtrodden verse, maybe even as reflective of how the song in the end plays out negatively in the end, despite the best efforts of the chorus “voice”. Going back to my original review, I remember remembering very little about these tracks post first 2 listens. They both wandered off in my head, potentially due in part to listening fatigue, or just poor memory. I did, however, manage to get the structure down here it seems, likely through intense re-listening, something that seems so alien to me now. Melodically, the verse could certainly have been a bit tighter. It portrays the anger well, but certainly not to the effectiveness of “So Happy…”, though lyrically the verses certainly get across the idea of intense irritation at the fact nothing is going the narrators way at all. The sub-concious chorus certainly tops the verse, at least melodically, in the fact that it soars. It reaches that triumphant feeling when it hits, and by the time it has been “unburdened”, it feels like it musically. It matches together perfectly, and thus creates an incredibly strong feeling with the listener. Similarly, the breakdown in the bridge is so smooth and succinct that the listener feels the joy from the chorus continued, but there is certainly an air of uncertainty, before being hit by the decisively down trodden solo. Conflicted emotions are perfectly demonstrated in this song, and the sudden domination of the lesser thought process right at the end of the final chorus really hammers that home. 8.5/10
Oh boy. “Unforgiving Night” is probably the song I have taken to the most in the Dermot canon, but there is so much perspective for me to take on this track. I say very little about the track itself in my original review, namely because I couldn’t remember it. I essentially say it has a “great solo” and a confusing song structure, which in retrospect is correct a so wrong at the same time. Once I got to know the track, the whole “‘cause she’s my guiding light” line and section was the very point of perfection for me. But the rest of that track was an interesting ditty, and maybe not so much anything more. To my knowledge anyway. It was once I heard the lyrical changes in the original demo that I really took an interest in the track. The [Freddie Custom Edit] is certainly the key example of this infatuation, and maybe this is all I can attribute my obsession to. Maybe if I had never heard the demo, “Unforgiving Night” would have sat far lower on my rankings for this album, but I guess it’s just the mystery that drags me in. The alternate lyrics in the early studio vocal continue the confusion, though I personally don’t often touch this version, since it lacks the intrigue of the demo, and the punch of the final version. But when I discovered it, I went crazy, like I was unravelling a long-forgotten riddle from an ancient time. And still to this day I have no clue what the song is about. And maybe that’s for the best. On a more literal evaluation, the track certainly offers something confusing. The repetitive section post chorus almost feels unnecessary, and it certainly does take a different direction post solo, but it’s nothing too out of the ordinary. It could easily be compared to the transition to the bridge from “Replaced” from 2011’s “Distance Reawakens”, and maybe an elevation of this idea. it certainly concludes very different, but lyrically both are complete with a “coming to terms” type of lyricism, but neither truly accepts it. “Unforgiving Night” also boasts what is undoubtedly the best guitar solo on this LP, addressing that confusion needed to transfer the listener from chorus to bridge, and taking a very emotive melodic progression. This is a clearly formulated solo, but one that feels like a spontaneous emotion. Maybe there really is a reason I focussed on this latter section in my original review - it’s just that interesting. The verses are similarly confusing, but in lyricism rather than musically. In fact, the chorus achieves the same thing. Confusion. I still to this day have not the foggiest idea what this track is actually about, but I do know it is dark. Very dark. And it hits that on the head. The narrator almost distresses the listener, and maybe that is the genius of the song. The bitter distress. 9.5/10
And then we come to “My Gravity”, the albums finale. I remember on my initial listen I was decidedly underwhelmed, but felt the track was likely a grower. It certainly wasn’t bad to any extent. Just not what I was expecting. And isn’t that usually a good thing? In this case, I certainly feel that’s the way. With reflection, I can see how perfect this track was for the album’s closer. The main themes of the album are addressed in the track, such as personal loss, despair, confliction, and space, and all are executed perfectly, culminating in a triumphant, if heartbreaking finale cry of “I wanna be home…”. To an extent, I feel dissecting this track to be wrong. From the solitary opening, with its confused strumming pattern and introspective vocals, to the chorus that manages to lift without pushing it too much, through the gradual build to the soaring finale, this track is arranged perfectly to its subject matter. It is exactly as the artist intended, and in reality, with a song as personal as this, that is for the best, as it really captures that emotion. 9/10
I said at the beginning about how much Pilot now means to me, on a personal level rather than the obvious musical one. It has infused its sound into my daily life, and there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by where Pilot, or at least Dermot, is mentioned by me in some way, shape, or form. Has that had an effect on the way I portray Pilot to others? Potentially. I certainly rarely consider things like the weakness of “Another World”’s melody, or the uncertain vocal in “No Through Road”, instead marketing them, as, well, marketable pieces of music. “Another World” is a “Punchy opener!”, and “No Through Road” is a “Great single!”. Regardless, while certainly not flawless, there isn’t truly a bad track on this album, and I personally know I can recommend it to people without fear of embarrassment or need to note any specific flaws in justification. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what makes an album great?
You can download Pilot for any price you want from bandcamp here
