illusionofjoy | OTR: Blue October - Consent to Treatment

Released nearly eight years ago, Blue October's major-label début, Consent to Treatment should have been far bigger than it was. Universal records was pushing this album heavily in the summer of 2000 - enough promos came to WAIH that anyone who wanted a copy was able to get their hands on one (including yours truly).

The release of Consent to Treatment was preceded by the single for "James," a workable alt-rock by the numbers song that was likely the label's attempt to break the band on the larger modern rock stations. Unfortunately, while it is a good enough song, it's not particularly representative of the album as whole. If the label had wanted to deceive listeners into becoming fans of the band, they could have done just as well with the poppy Dave Matthews-esque "Balance Beam."

Much of this album is pretty fucking dismal, angsty stuff. The MO of Consent is laid out immediately with the introductory monologue of "Retarded Disfigured Clown," a forty-two second track which opens the album before "Independently Happy," the first proper song. From there, it's a journey through a maze of drug-addled therapy and tales of love gone wrong through a prism of mental illness - a theme most prominent on the songs "Schizophrenia," "Amnesia" and "The Answer."

Needless to say, I played this album a lot in 2000. I somewhat lost interest in Blue October with their follow-up, History For Sale, however, I would come back for Foiled...