Review Summary: Incubus meets God Lives Underwater?
Music recommendations from users on this site are a hit-and-miss proposition. Occasionally these suggestions will lead to the discovery of a great release, but most of the time that just isn’t the case. With that in mind, I was initially hesitant about listening to an industrial rock album that a fellow staff member had suggested. All of the signs – from the band name to the artwork accompanying each song – seemed to point to this band being another cheesy
Marylyn Manson meets Thrill Kill Kult sleaze-fest. It turns out, though, that the band’s name isn’t doing them any justice because they are actually a pretty talented bunch of individuals. It also turns out that their music is actually a unique take on alternative rock that just happens to make effective use of electronics – so much for baseless assumptions.
On
Penumbra the electronics definitely make up the foundation of each track by providing a gritty and rhythmic layer of synths and sounds, but they’re not the actual focal point of the songs. The heart of the music lies with the creative riffing of Phil Merriman, and the solid accompaniment of the rhythm section. Much like Mike Einziger of
Incubus, Phil is able to compose riffs that are original, quirky and energetic while still remaining firmly within the alt. rock genre. Also, much like Incubus, the rhythm section uses the space created by these quirky riffs to experiment with a variety of beats and funky bass riffs, but there’s still one more piece to this puzzle. That piece is the chill vocals of Andrew Linde. While the music is delivered with a near-constant energetic vibe, Andrew lays his vocals over the top in a laid back, almost casual way. His sleepy vocals almost seem to drift over the top of the upbeat music, and this disparity works to further the quirky nature of the songs.
I’ve heard people say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I’ve also been told that stereotyping saves time – in this case the truth was in the former. Despite the type of music the band name may imply, this is actually a really solid collection of alt. rock songs that utilize electronics as their foundation. The music is quirky and pretty original, and while the relaxed delivery of the vocals don’t allow for any strong hooks, they do their job just fine. It’s also worth noting, by the way, that the band have been gracious enough to allow this album to be downloaded for free (although donations are always appreciated).
