Solid State

Known primarily for his humorous takes on the world of technology Jonathan has developed a bit of a cult following. He has a cruise every year that features various comedy musicians such as Paul and Storm, The Doubleclicks, and Garfunkel & Oates to name a few. This coming cruise (2018) features Aimee Mann which is a bit of a switch.This album stays in the land of technology but is quite a departure from what some have come to expect. It is a serious concept album about a 19th century farmer who dreams about an advanced technological society every night. The farmer really only serves as a vessel for the story. The main character slo9wly become disenchanted by all of the machinery around them and finds himself longing for a simpler life outside of the cities. It , in essence, is a sort of grass is always greener kind of tale.The songwriting here is easily some of his best by far. My hands down favorite song is Ordinary Man. It is possibly his most well crafted song. Other standouts, in my opinion, are Square Things, Don't Feed The Trolls, and Brave. My least favorite track is Pictures Of Cats.I feel this is the best album, so far, of his career.

I became a huge JoCo addict after Pandora kept pounding me with his stuff on my "They Might be Giants" channel. Solid State is a very solid collection of material. The stand out tracks for me are Square Things, Ordinary Man and Robot.txt. But there's really not a weak track. I will say that the overall adherence to his concept might have not been conducive to the level of levity that he's known for. Yes, he's mostly into dark humor, but the feel of this one is more serious and thought-provoking. Not a bad thing, but just something to be aware of going in. I rated it 4 stars because I do think he's written some better songs in the past (classics like Shop Vac, Still Alive, Re: Your Brains, Skullcrusher Mountain, I Feel Fantastic). A high bar to try and clear, I admit. Had I never heard any of his earlier material, I might've given it 5 stars because of it's consistently impressive songwriting. I can't imagine a Coulton fan that wouldn't be into this stuff -- as long as you allow for the absence of any punch lines.

From the dreamy start of Wake Up, to the equally-dreamy There You Are at the very end, and all through the heartening All This Time, the trippy Square Things, and the clever danceable Don't Feed The Trolls, this is one of my favorite albums. I don't know why I waited two-and-a-half years to get it.

A complete and intimate look into a sci-fi world of confusion and betrayal. I adore his work, and this doesn't disappoint. Best paired with the graphic novel.

I've been a fan ever since hearing First of May. Solid State is simply amazing. The depth and elegance of the songwriting and the richly balanced production bring out the performance and the genius of a great artist.

JoCo's music is always evolving and growing. This concept album is just another fantastic offering from what has already been a great musical career.

I've only given the album one solid listen, and I need to go back for more. But I can't help but notice how sad and melancholy the whole album is. It's a different look for JoCo, I think. But from what I can tell, it's not all bad. I'm going to keep listening until I really make a solid judgement.I'm not going to go through and rate each individual song, but since I had the chance to listen to All This Time so many times leading up to the release, I can tell you that that song is killer in its own right.

Outstanding -- may be his best yet. We particularly like Square Things and Don't Feed The Trolls.

So this review is primarily for the UK market where many people's knowledge of Jonathan Coulton will be similar to my own. I was completely unaware of him until about a month ago when I saw him in London supporting Aimee Mann. The few people over here who do seem to know him, associate him with a combination of melodic pop music and comedy. His previous work is a mix of slight world weary melancholy and wry observations on various aspects of life.Solid State is nothing like that. It is an utterly brilliant, almost flawless album. It is right up there with the early Radiohead albums including OK Computer, before they went all bingy-bongy. But for my money this is better than OK Computer as it is a more relevant and interesting look at the future, and how today will shape it. All of that mixed with some absolutely brilliant melodies, veering from mournful reflections on maturing love to bemused toe tappers on the world's angriest generation. I've been so impressed that I've gone out and bought five copies of the vinyl album for all of my muso friends.It's not perfect; it goes on slightly too long with the final couple of songs being a bit weaker and unnecessary. But it's damn close. Listen to it on Spotify a few times and then go out and buy it for you and your loved ones. You won't regret it

Great album and great group!