Posts Tagged ‘instrumental’

Oculesics — Never Odd or Even (2011)

Posted: August 2, 2012 by Is This Revolutionary? in Album
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It’s been a month and a day since The Night Wears A Sombrero, where B. and I had the good fortune to meet and watch a performance from Oculesics. I guess now would be a good time to get this review going.

Never Odd or Even is the Connecticut-based math rock outfit’s debut album, released in July 2011, and it has a ton to offer. The seven-track album is about thirty-four minutes long, and starts off with a one and a half minute-long track titled “There’s Only One ‘I’ In Selfish,” which is very telling of what the rest of the album has in store. In ninety-two seconds, it touches upon every section of the self-imposed “postexperimentalmathyjazzrock” label very nicely before it flows seamlessly into “Space Nails!.”

Seamless transition is a persistent theme throughout the album. Tracks like “So Strange A Noise. . .” and “Ed Booth’s A Scumbag. . .” break away from this theme, having very definitive ends, though as independent tracks, their dynamics necessitated these distinctions. They even served well, being placed in the middle of the album, to further establish the experimental theme of the album as a whole, allowing for a new form of variety. That said, I listened to this album a lot in circumstances in which I wouldn’t pay any mind to the track numbers, listings, or lengths, like while driving. As a result, I found myself frequently thinking “I wonder when this song is going to end.” Upon looking at my mp3 player, I would realize I was almost at the end of the next track more often than not. That is not to say the music at any point felt like it was dragging. On the contrary, I was so enveloped most of the time that I had no idea where I was temporally in the music. In writing Never Odd or Even, Oculesics was fully capable of seeing the forest for the trees, and what beautiful foliage they produced. It’s the type of forest whose landscape continually inspires you to keep walking, to pay no mind to how far you’ve walked or how late it’s getting, to take it in for all it has to offer. With the same sentiment, the album ends with a simple, unexpected (though not abrupt) release, leaving you content in knowing you’ve experienced the whole of it, though further content in knowing you can still go back and discover more. It’s a similar feeling to waking up after a long night of pleasant dreaming to the warm rays of a sunrise. It just happens, and it feels good.

So…? I wore my heart on my sleeve this entire review. They share characteristics of early Tera Melos (a cited influence of theirs) and late Flaming Tsunamis, which are my favorite stages of two of my favorite bands. They also fulfill one of my key factors in distinguishing good math rock bands from really good math rock bands, which is having at least one song that evokes memories of Metroid, which in this case is the transition from “Rotavator” to “Tulsa’s Mom’s a Slut.” Not to mention, the album title, as well as the last three track titles, are palindromes. AND the field of study from which they borrow their name could provide for conversation and contemplation for hours. Seriously, look into it. Everything about this band is cool. Four out of five kegs.

That's a lot of gunpowder.

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By the way, the album is available for free download from their Bandcamp profile, which I posted just above. I would strongly encourage getting your hands on it.

-A.

Align in Time- Me & My Arrow (2011)

Posted: January 26, 2012 by Is This Revolutionary? in Album, Reviews
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 Streaming at the bottom of the page.

I always have the utmost respect for solo projects. It takes a certain kind of person to take all their ideas, concerning every aspect of the musical process, and piece it all together to make something beautiful. Align in Time, the one-man instrumental undertaking of John Boles, is breathtaking. How one man can do such things is a mystery I’ll never solve.

It begins with what sounds like the end of a song, with a big explosion, and then quietly leads to what sounds like the beginning of a real song.  It has this early This Will Destroy You sound that I really like. Short song that turns into “The Many Faces”, which is my favorite off this album. Begins with the reverse-play that God Is An Astronaut use on the back-end of a couple of their songs. The build is simple, but pretty, and then they bring up the pace, and then bring it back down with a sound that kind of sounds like a less-heavy Gifts from Enola. Then something amazing happens, complete with guitar solos from prog rock, and at 4:24, I was DYING for blast beats. Overall, the album is very nicely put together, though sometimes it becomes a little repetitious. What I love about this album is when it’s off, it’s still listenable, but when it’s on, it’s like you’re in another world. The beginning of “Men without Chests” is outstandingly unique, and it feels like this entire album is a blend of so many genres that you can only truly classify it as instrumental.

Rating: Align in Time’s Me & My Arrow is probably one of the most impressive outings of a one-piece band that I’ve heard in forever. Creativity in abundance, this album has been on repeat since I got around to listening to it, and my only regret is not listening to it sooner. There were a couple of portions that I wish it would have gotten heavier, or maybe a little less airy, but to have those be the only things to detract from this album speaks volumes. I know I said I was going to grade harsher, and I am, and still this album deserves a 4/5 kegs. Insanely great work.

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B.

 

Twincities- Self-Titled (2011)

Posted: September 23, 2011 by Is This Revolutionary? in Album, Long Island, Reviews
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“I find the direct negative correlation between amount of gear and the amount of notes played on the gear fascinating.” – Dave Friedrich

My friends, nature works in a very easy way to understand: the most basic way is generally the best way to take. How we wish everything in life could be like nature, but think about how many times it actually is. When I need comfort in a good meal, I don’t seek fancy, exquisite dishes; rather, I turn to simple (albeit fattening) foods to put me in a better mood. Relaxation, I’ll take a cup of tea and a good book over a hiking trip. There’s just something to be said about simplicity that taps into our essence and puts us in line with nature itself.

The same premise occurs in music, although on a scale that is a little harder to recognize. Remember the calming tune your parents would hum to soothe you to sleep, which very well be the one that you’ll hum to your little ones when they are fussing. The sound of the ocean rolling up upon a deserted shoreline can bring the feeling of inner peace to the listener, whether there to experience the actual event or not. This concept is embraced and harnessed by Twincities, a four-piece instrumental band from Long Island, New York. The beauty of their music comes not from the amount of notes they can play in a single moment, nor how long they can hold a delay pedal down (as many up-and-coming post-rock bands think it key), but the emotion and passion by which they play.

The first track sets up the mood for the entire album, from its beautiful first notes accompanied by a faint resonance and xylophone to its eventual crash symbol-filled end. Appropriately entitled “1″ , this song takes you through the crescendo-ing that is a staple of many of the bands in this genre.

“2″, the next track, starts off in a very similar manner (don’t worry, there’s a pattern here). The beginning is a glockenspiel solo lasts for nearly a whole 2 minutes, but it’s the delicate sound against the silence and eventual guitar build-up that makes you appreciate the powerful influx of energy that follows. Midway through “2″, the second guitar takes a heavy, sludge turn that juxtaposes the staccato, crisp lead guitar as it echos together in a Souvenir’s Young America type feel (less heavy, but the resemblance is there).

The intro into “3″ sounds like it’s going in reverse, which is a really nice touch, but it’s the rest of the song that stands out by staying quiet. The glockenspiel drifting in and out of audibility along with a very faint resonance wall brings a touch of artistic minimalism, making you feel like you’re on a porch before a thunderstorm, the light winds sounding a wind chime above you.

This carries into the beginning of “4″, where it is met by a pair of dissonance-laced guitars. The pace speeds up, unexpectedly, which is followed by an enthusiastic drum roll intro into a beat which brings to mind old Explosions in the Sky. The crash symbols light up the already inspirational mood set by the rapid guitar and drum-line, and everything burns out like a star on its final cycle. It then reverts to their familiar calm before it rebirths at the end, filled with energy and duel between the two guitar parts. The battle climaxes into feedback, which then ends the album.

Rating: To hit your stride on a first release is very difficult, especially when the options are so vast, as in the case of instrumental music. Russian Circles had something magical from their first EP, and they’ve grown into the post-rock/metal juggernauts we know them as today. Signals To Vega also had a similar outing, and we’ve yet to see any forward progression towards a new album, but that’s only a matter of time. Twincities is one of the rare, few bands that will be making a name for themselves from the start. For it’s honesty, simplicity and subtle beauty, this album deserves a 4.5/5.

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B.

 

 

 

 

Author’s note: Twincities features Is This Revolutionary?’s own Salvatore as well as Ricky and I’s mutual friends Fletcher and Matt. An interview will be coming fairly soon.