EPIC: The Troy Saga and EPIC: The Cyclops Saga are two 5-track and 4-track story EPs (respectively) by Puerto Rican composer and singer/songwriter Jorge Rivera-Herrans.
I do not normally write reviews with any negative connotations. Not unless I see fit to use them as a way to point to bigger issues and trends I see in music. Plus, I normally like most everything I listen to.
And I did like both EPIC collections. For the most part.
But there's a major issue with Rivera-Herrans' titling of his EPs as "concept albums."
The problem is that it is almost entirely and undeniably false. Neither EP puts forward a concept and builds upon it in any meaningful way. Sufjan Stevens' "Planetarium" is a concept album about space. The Weeknd's most recent two albums are conceptually 80s.
What's Rivera-Herrans doing? He's telling the Odyssey through what are essentially pop musical numbers, and I mean that in the most literal sense. This is musical theatre with a cinematic pop structure.
Now, I have no qualms with any of it. In fact, I quite like the majority of the pieces on the EPs. Rivera-Herrans, for all the EPs' flaws, is a talented singer, and the soloists he employs complement the tracks well. And many of the songs have unique sections that immerse you in picturing the songs on stage.
But again, there's "Open Arms." It really brings the enjoyment down. That's, like, 3 minutes I'll never get back. I would've found more enjoyment listening to tropical house. But I guess, in its own way, it was interesting to see Rivera-Herrans flop.
Overall, a good way to kick off 2023, but not the best collection of songs in the world.
284