Review Summary: A dark, somber, and captivating album.
Alone Architect’s debut is a very interesting endeavor, headed by ex-Pulse Ultra bassist Jeff Feldman. A progressive electronica album with atmospheric elements intended to produce a wonderful, lush landscape intended to captivate the listener. Feldman plays all the instrutments on the album and the heavily vocoder vocals in “A Moth to Flame” and “A Lullaby A Tragedy.” He also gets help from two female vocalists on the album: Angela Boismenu on “Not Alone,” and Elsieanne Caplette (
Elsiane) on ‘The Incision’ and ‘These Passages.’ Both female vocalist provide stunning vocals in different ways, as I will explain in the track-by-track review.
Track-by-track review:
A Moth To Flame: A wonderful opening track that shows off much of what you’re in for: unsettling, but captivating vocals done in a vocoder by Feldman and a pulsing electronic beat that scurries throughout the track providing a haunting backdrop to the vocals. The lyrics on hand are a bit ambiguous and could be taken to mean many meanings, but are haunting nonetheless. It starts slow and builds to a wonderful crescendo and the vocals hook you in throughout the song. 4.5/5
Not Alone: My favorite off the track due solely to Boismenu wonderful operatic voice throughout the track. She sings in just the right tone to hold your attention and delivers the chorus with wonderful power. The song follows a standard verse-chorus-repeat for the track, but she keeps you interested throughout the whole affair. The music behind her provides a wonderful way for her showcase her music, pulsating throughout the track holding slight dubstep influence. 5/5
The Incision: The track opens with a subdue drum beat and builds it up from there. Soon after, you hear the vocals of Caplette. While Boismenu sung with a lot of power and voice, Caplette’s voice is more subdue here. She sings in this soft voice that will haunt you long after the track ends (or until you reach the next track featuring her) and gives haunting lyrics throughout the track such as “It's been so hard to remember what has passed through me here/ All the lies that I see in your eyes seem surreal.” While less interesting instrumentally, it still wonderful. 4/5
Circling the Wagons: An instrumental track that is mostly filler. It still is a little interesting, due to the time signature changes that happen in the track. Aside from that, it mostly here to chill and unnerve you. 3/5
These Passages: A beating drum and haunting orchestral music instrumental introduces the next track before toning down to let in Caplette again. Caplette sings under a haunting piano melody that builds up as she sings. Caplette continues using her voice from the her previous track, but still delivers the lyrics sharply. The instruments deliver immense feeling throughout the tracks, adding wonderfully to her voice. She sings throughout the song, ending with “It's been so dark I'll find my way,” giving a sense of hope at the end of the music that I can’t shake off. 4.5/5
A Lullaby A Tragedy: The final track starts off with a haunting melody by the keyboard. Shortly after, the vocoder comes in, and it all explodes into one driving beat. The song is complemented by a choir of vocals that haunt the background, helping the music to reach the finish line. The music all builds until it reaches a crescendo that causes it to die away; a very dark sounding finisher. 4.5/5
Feldman has delivered an electronica album that will captivate you for days on end. He strings you along with catchy hooks through the somber affair and the guest vocals add their own unique flavor to the album. A must have for anyone interested in electronica music or just wants a good album.
