Review Summary: Bon Voyage puts We Are Castor's love of genre-blending on a pedestal and shows that their style is unique when comparing to some other electronic artists.
We Are Castor is a 7-piece self proclaimed: "genreconfused" band, from Trondheim Norway. Their core-genre is electronic, however they have a tendency to blend this genre with bluegrass, blues, rock and even hip-hop. Bon Voyage is We Are Castor's debut album released in February, 2014. So, with a band having an attitude as "we make whatever we feel like" and a reputation to tamper with a multitude of genres; how will this play as an entire full album?
Realistically, it turns out as a fantastic package. We Are Castor basically released this album to reveal this is who they are, this is what they do and this is how they do it. A majority of the songs present on this album make an effort to take another genre other than electronic into play to make it unique: not only to other songs on the album, but to basically any other song involved in the genres used. That makes 16 tracks (17 including the three minute outro) of "genreconfused" fun experienced by the band. Over an hour of it.
The first aspect that stands out is the instrumentation. Most consistently, you will hear strings, synths, vocals, electric guitar and electronic percussion. However, you should expect to hear harmonica, flutes, mandolin, acoustic percussion and a use of samples. What this results in is an acoustic and natural sound with an added mix of electronic elements to add a trance or EDM-like aspect. Instrumentals of the album are very well balanced. You're not going to find the strings on par with complex classical pieces, you're not going to find synthesizers playing complicated melodies nor will you find guitars playing with speeds of Dave Mustaine. But since simplicity is pulled off well as a whole band, it results in a more emphasized and powerful sound. Vocals are a surprising part of this album. Even though a lot of weight is being relied on the instrumentals, the vocals do just as good a job of making an enjoyable listen. The female vocalist is the most present, and her voice makes it easy to tell when she is really belting out notes, which aids in the overall flow of a song. The male vocalist also has this factor, but his voice strains more on his throat when getting louder, so his voice is very fitting in the blues tracks. The themes of the lyrics are also quite varied with some examples being making a deal with the devil (Devil Don't Dance), reflecting on experiences of the sea (Seven Seas) and even self praise (Kodo).
Structually, Bon Voyage is a bit linear, not that that is an overall negative thing, but it could potentially add variety to the album. Songs with vocals usually follow an intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-outro with a bridge towards the second chorus. However, while the actual structure is a tad simple, the amount of variation present counters this. Certain instruments' melodies are altered or added and gives the listener something new to listen out for. Some songs (especially Bright Lights) also like to glorify some solos. The songs that focus around the electronic genre with no vocals also follow the fact variation is used often, which means even the lone electronic music doesn't feel repetitive. Also, practically every song has an effective flow. By this, I mean the tracks gradually build up and then flutter back down (some extreme changes are included for effect in some songs) in regards to dynamics and texture. This gives each song a feeling as though it was actually thought out and planned well about how it was going to sound.
We Are Castor's debut album achieves exactly what they wished. Bon Voyage puts their love of genre-blending on a pedestal and shows that We Are Castor's style is unique when comparing to some other electronic artists. If you're only a fan of electronic music, or if you're only a fan of acoustic music; you're going to wish these opposites met a long time ago.
Pro's: - Instrumentation
- Little Filler
- Variation (Musically and vocally)
Con's: - Slightly simple song structures
- Not that complex musicality
- Length can drag out a first listen
Recommended Tracks: - Devil Don't Dance
- Revolvers (Hate Me)
- Eskimo
