tsosis
Blue Version

2.0
poor

Review

by Funeralopolis USER (44 Reviews)
March 27th, 2012 | 38 replies

Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

Review Summary: And I always thought Blue and Red version were the same game.

Matching isn’t always just about the colours. Green and red may look dashing with one another but are often inappropriate, this comparison can be drawn to the aesthetic following The Speed of Sound In Seawater’s debut EP. Combining indie pop, and math rock Blue Version isn’t a venture willing to dabble in light hearted, cutesy synths and mellow out in twinkly acoustics, much the opposite of pop: Blue Version is hard hitting and abrasive. Abrasiveness can be a welcomed feature on many occasions: leave the easy listening to the softies they say. When delving into more complex and harsher structures the little details and transitions become much more important. Blue Version has no shame in showing its colours but all the way down they are just blue.

Noodly guitar lines are in abundance on this album found stretching from beginning to end on this album without letting up. With all of this movement upon peaks and valleys it can be expected to be a real rollercoaster ride but in this aspect Blue Version doesn’t deliver. Instead of freefalls and precipices it comes off more as 10 degree slopes and handicap ramps. The lines are often winding and moving consistently however they never seem to move out a solidified comfort zone. Rather the lines tend to work almost as in little jerking movements providing a twangy pace that slows and quickens in speed. There is however some experimentation that breaks out of the mould where unexpected hits and stutters excuse themselves from the continuum only to return once again to the standard notions. There is also some notable experimentation with the emo genre that often falls under the duty of the rhythm guitar such as on ‘Yay Flowers’ that sounds often better than the lead. The loudest in the lot is always the lead guitar. This decision in the mixing doesn't suit the album well when you have leads that lack in diversity and have nothing more to offer than noodly drive.

The vocals are sugary sweet thankfully not to due to over production but rather a natural whine Damian utters. It matches the music notes fluctuating precisely but always feels contrived as if it is the vocal notes are bending and rising without any real genuine reason besides for the sheer fact to match the instrumentation. Rather than focusing on the performance and emotion of the vocals as should be with an album of this genre, the delivery seems more of an afterthought added onto the mix to just compliment the guitar lines. Often during periods including vocals the instrumentation has a tendency to come across as if a car attempting to stop on a slippery road: zooming behind the vocals making the vocals seems as if they are always winding downwards in the mix, fading out. This combination in conjunction makes the sugary sweet vocals seem as they are trying to utter out as fast as possible which results in a grating whining that feels simply out of place.

Although the songs always feel as if they are trying to reach a destination the promise never becomes fore filled. Each song sounds the same as the last and has a tendency to blend into each other. The real downfall of this album is that it has the occasional complex guitar line but stays too comfortable, the noodly lines give an illusion of fast paced experimentation. In all reality however there is little going on to redeem Blue Version from appearing as an album full of scattered ideas.

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