I wish they would let go a bit more with the prog. Together with the drums, the album almost becomes repetitive… in how much they kick ass. She has this smooth, kinda sexy way of singing with great articulation and creative delivery that’s very enticing to listen to. Alexa’s vocals are also a real highlight grabber. I sometimes forget there are other things going on because I’m so mesmerized by this dude’s playing. There’s always a good groove going on, and he’s constantly adding little fills and variations making it highly entertaining. They always keep it interesting, and you can always hear everything because the mix is phenomenal. Horn solos, sudden Hammond keys, weird effects, an increase in intensity where you expect a dropoff, etc. It’s hard to predict where each song will go. One thing I must absolutely applaud this band for though is their creativity. As the album goes on the songs blend together slightly because of this. They’re clearly capable of immense technical passages. The compact nature of their songwriting makes sure no song will stink in any capacity, but it does leave me wanting more. Aside from the drummer, the band seems afraid to loosen up and let the prog go wild. And that seems to be a common thread throughout the album. Although, it’s disappointing that much like the opener, they come with a very cool proggy sounding bridge but the song ends before it truly goes anywhere. They do some cool overdub in the verses, and the China cymbals in the chorus give it some lovely dramatic oomph.
The second song is more ominous and atmospheric. The song ends a bit weirdly with some sort of half-solo-half-broken up prog thing, but it fits the song well and keeps the momentum up. Combined with the big synths, and Baard Kolstad-esque fill-happy drumming it left a big impression on me. Not that my math-based brain cells are particularly adept at deciphering poetry, but “Chase the night \\ Laced in light \\ It’ll break the knife (x2) \\ It’ll break you” sounds plenty poetic to me, and it’s damn catchy. It’s one of the most memorable things on the album, and sets the tone well for what is to come. A minute or so in it explodes with a busy drum groove and commanding vocals from Alexa Rae as she immediately goes into the chorus. The record kicks off pretty ominously with an atmospheric guitar melody, dramatic spoken word, and spooky synth noises. So as a proper reviewer I did my research and did NOT listen to them for reference because I’m going in blind for a change. Otherwise this wouldn’t be outside my comfortzone now would it? Either way, this album is pretty interesting, and the band in question shares two members with the aforementioned The Mars Volta. I was told by fellow writer Nick that this is for fans of The Mars Volta and Bent Knee. My comfortzone lies roughly in things that sound either like Dream Theater, Opeth, or power metal, and this is pretty far removed from all three. Sometimes I like to branch out a bit reviewing-wise.
Style: progressive/art rock, indie (clean, female vocals)
0 kommentar(er)
