Review Summary: Somewhere between the thunderous drum beats, searing guitar riffs, and gentle, rural-vibe acoustic strumming, it is impossible not to become immersed in this imaginative world that 1,2,3 have crafted.
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1,2,3 is an electro rock duo that has remained well-hidden from the public eye. Only occasionally have they surfaced to release an individual track or teaser promoting their major label debut
New Heaven, and with less than a week standing between us and the album’s official release date, it is safe to say that fans and critics alike are heading into the experience somewhat blindly. Even in skimming over the band’s official website, their myspace, and their tumblr page, very little is revealed in the way of a bio. Most of the news that they share with us concerns one thing: their songs. From tracks they have completed to demos they are currently working on, the primary buzz that 1,2,3 creates about themselves is centered around their music. With that kind of focus, it is no wonder that
New Heaven is such a meticulously composed and audibly pleasing album…even if what we know about them is analogous to the strange masks on the cover.
The mystifying aura surrounding the band actually suits them quite well, as
New Heaven sounds eerie, unfamiliar, and unpredictable the majority of the time. This can be directly traced to 1,2,3’s unlikely fusion of indie-folk with harder, borderline industrial rock and heavy doses of electronica. Perhaps the most surprising facet of their music isn’t
what they blend together, but how well they do it while simultaneously making it their own. From start to finish,
New Heaven is an album that is constantly introducing unique elements, from the gradual implementation of digital effects on ‘Heat Lightnin’ to the unabashed tambourine jam, ‘Work’. They waste no time enveloping you in their unique brand of experimentation, and somewhere between the thunderous drum beats, searing guitar riffs, and gentle, rural-vibe acoustic strumming, it is impossible not to become immersed in this imaginative world that 1,2,3 have crafted.
It would be doing this album a hefty injustice to assume that all of its genre experimentation and electronic influence make it sound mechanical, however.
New Heaven is a deeply emotional record, and 1,2,3 are constantly shocking in their ability to create messages and mental images that transcend the mere instruments comprising the music. ‘Sorry, Soldier’ is the most immediately noticeable example because of its lyrical depth, presenting lines like “Well she said she loves you…but she’s far too young, to know you’re the one, and I’ll be around when you leave.” The song takes an angle surprisingly different from what you would expect (given the title), and appears to be told from the perspective of someone falling for a girl who is with a soldier, but can’t have her until he departs. You can’t deny the honesty flowing from his voice with every note, and the balls that it takes in the first place to be so willingly open with both yourself and the people involved in the song. Whether or not the message offends you, it proves that
New Heaven is a very
human record, full of imperfect people who follow their heart, pursue passion, and make mistakes.
Even within the music itself,
New Heaven is a deeply expressive record. The aforementioned ‘Heat Lightnin’ doesn’t even need profound lyrics to paint a moving picture. To a constant background of bass-heavy, thundering drumbeats, the song transports its audience to a summer pasture, perhaps watching fireworks explode in the starry night…or depending on your mood, maybe a thunderstorm. The aura of ‘Heat Lightnin’ is so peaceful, however, that I get the feeling I could watch Armageddon unfold before my eyes to this playing in the background and still feel completely at ease…as if it is just the culmination of our lives here on earth and an inevitable consequence of doom that we have had coming for a long time now. Emotionally detached,
mechanical music is incapable of having this effect on listeners. Suffice to say, it seems clear that
New Heaven, for all of its textures and detailed layers, still hits hard where it counts: the heart of the listener.
One place that bands like 1,2,3 occasionally falter is in the selection of vocals. Oftentimes, when such powerful and moving soundscapes are erected within an album, it is difficult to find a voice that speaks to the listener with equal potency. In those cases, the solution is frequently to limit the vocal contributions or scrap them altogether. In the case of 1,2,3, they are blessed with a singer who can match the quality of their overall sound; with everything from Isaac Brock-like crooning (Modest Mouse) to desperate wails a la Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins),
New Heaven never seems to run out of ideas vocally. With this luxury, 1,2,3 are able to create something that has both the technical prowess to get the listener lost in dense, vivid atmospheres
as well as the voice to create memorable, complementary melodies. The results are astounding, and will leave many of this duo’s contemporaries wondering how they can match 1,2,3’s tremendous versatility.
New Heaven could easily be the surprise album of the summer, maybe even the year, given enough exposure in the correct light. Its remarkable blend of so many different genre characteristics sound unexpectedly cohesive, and overtop of a shimmering electronic canvas, it has the potential to shine brighter than even
they could have anticipated. Don’t let the mask of obscurity keep you from hearing what is undoubtedly one of the weirdest, most intriguing albums of the year - because it might also be one of the best.
