Album Review - Among The Echoes, "Fracture"

Album Review:
Among The Echoes, "Fracture"

It’s been a while since I did a review, but from the moment I started listening to the latest album from Among The Echoes I knew I would have to break my hiatus. "Fracture" is one of the most addictive and all-consuming LPs I have heard for a long time.

From the outset, the album’s opener slinks around your head and into your ear before seeping down to the pit of your stomach and wrapping a gigantic invisible fist around your soul. At the first thunderous beat of the album’s title track, "Fracture", the fist lifts you up and slams you down into the core of the earthquake of dark beats and bass, crisp anthemic synths and blistering Bowie-eque vocals that exude a fantastic combination of power, fear, control, passion and acrimony.

The production is absolutely superb and is the icing on the cake to the fabulous electronic powerhouse driving the 13 tracks on the album. The album is definitely in my top 3 albums of this year so far and I highly recommend it, particularly for fans of dark and brooding electronica who, like me, look for music that has the ability to cut you off from the world and hold your attention completely from start to finish.

Absolutely outstanding!

Track Listing
Heartbeat (1:41)
Fracture (3:58)
Sin (3:34)
Medusa (5:15)
Hate (3:45)
Midnight (4:48)
Rain (4:01)
Control (4:26)
Heart Of A Machine (4:40)
Freak (4:20)
Pure (5:04)
24 (0:12)
13 (3:04)

ALBUM REVIEW - Delphic, "Collections"

From the moment I saw Delphic at Reading Festival in 2009 I was smitten with their style of guitar electro. They were my little gem of the Festival and I couldn’t wait to see them again. I went to the first Delphic gig I could, which happened to be at the Oxford’s O2 Academy the following January. The gig was small but perfect, and it coincided with the release of their first album, “Acolyte”. And since that gig I have played that album to death.

So you could say that I was rather impatient to get my hands on their next album. I knew it would have a lot to live up to, given the brilliance of “Acolyte”, and finally, some three years after that first album was released, today sees the release of their second album, “Collections” (although the band has been streaming it online for the last couple of weeks).

Starting with the first track, “Of The Young”, I first had to check that the cones in my speakers hadn’t blown because there was a bit of distortion and a strangeness in balance which seemed out of place. After testing other stuff I soon realised that this is a feature of this song, but for me it was very distracting. For the first song of the album it didn’t stand out for me like the first track of their previous album (the fantastic “Clarion Call” which is my favourite track on the entire album, mostly because it’s one of those tracks that blows stress away at full volume when main part of the song kicks in). I was a little disappointed because the impact just wasn’t there.

Moving onto “Baiya”, the lead single of the album which was previewed at the end of 2012, this does sound a lot more like the old Delphic. It has more electronic elements and a driving beat throughout, and a nice acoustic break. This is followed by “Changes” which opens with vocals and a simple piano riff, and becomes more electronic than the previous two tracks. However it is slow paced and laboured, and the influence of the 80s R&B and hip hop that the band admitted they had listened to while writing the album is evident. This track is followed by another slow paced song, “Freedom Found”, which again really reflects the same influences.

The next track, “Atlas”, is the best track so far. It reminds me, for some reason, of Fleetwood Mac, perhaps because of the plodding kick drum. It has a pleasing balance of ethereal vocals, good guitar riff and a nice bridge section, and they have even tried to shoehorn a bit of dubstep in there. “Tears Before Bedtime” follows, starting with a one-sided phone conversation and some haunting piano with some really stunning drifting vocals. The track is beautifully executed….until the muted trumpet chimes in. Sadly, for me, this detracts from the song completely, making it sound like 80s TV music, which is a crying shame because otherwise the track is great.

“The Sun Also Rises” starts more promisingly, with more pace and a good bassline, and is more memorable than the tracks at the start of the album. After that, “Memeo”, for me, is the best track on the album. The hip hop influence is clear (there’s even a Justin Timberlake-esque “Oh” on a loop in the background), but it is also reminiscent of Everything Everything, and is more like the old Delphic.

“Don’t Let The Dreamers Take You Away”, is a strange mix of their old style (in the verses) and hip hop (in the chorus). It doesn’t work for me at all, and the result is that it just goes on a bit. The penultimate track, “Exotic”, starts with a bit of beatboxing, and is another slow-paced track which sits firmly in the hip hop genre, complete with rapping. Personally I don’t think that style suits Delphic whatsoever.

Finally, the re-edit of “Good Life” is a more uplifting end to the album, harking back to the more electronic roots of the band’s previous album.

Overall I have to say that, as an ardent fan of Delphic’s electro guitar style of “Acolyte”, I was a tad disappointed by “Collections” . Gone are the memorable guitar riffs, the electronic wall of sound and the sheer energy of their previous tracks, and they have been replaced by a collection of slow paced tracks in a mish mash of styles, some of which work (just) and others which do not. Perhaps I will change my mind when I see the tracks being performed live in a couple of weeks (it has been known to happen), but for now I will pin my hopes on them quickly releasing a third album which goes back to their former brilliance.

My review score: 5/10 (and that is awarded with a heavy heart)

Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

ALBUM REVIEW - Deftones, "Koi No Yokan"

It has been almost two and a half years since their last album, but the Deftones are back with a vengeance with their 7th studio album.

Hailed as a resounding success by Deftones' fans, Koi No Yokan takes no prisoners, being slightly reminiscent of their much-revered album, White Pony from which their Grammy winning track Elite came. It seems more cohesive than the last album, Diamond Eyes, perhaps due, in part, to the turmoil that the Sacramento band were going through at the time. Bassist Chi Cheng had been involved in a car accident that had tragically left him in a coma, and he had been temporarily replaced with Sergio Vega. The band took the decision to put Eros on hold (the album that they had been working on with Cheng), and replace it with something that would better represent the new line up. The resulting Diamond Eyes album was safe, conservative and, at times, slightly laboured.

But Koi No Yokan sees the band returning to their former glory, keeping the listener on their toes by sweeping from the antagonistic to the ethereal. In the opener, Swerve City, the bass is more assured and skips aggressively around the crashing drums and anthemic vocals. The song will surely be a winner in a live setting. Keeping up with the same theme, Romantic Dreams cleverly switches between time signatures whilst the rock-steady drums and bass compete with Chino Moreno's pleading vocal and Stephen Carpenter's euphoric guitar.

The following Leathers is one of the shining stars of the album, with the delicate intro lulling the listener into a false sense of security before a brash vocal and guitar combo crashes in and punches the eardrums. Once again the song contains anthemic, tormenting vocals against a backdrop of heavy guitar riffs, with Moreno urging someone to come out of their shell and reveal themselves. In the following track, the choice of using programmed claps at the start of Poltergeist over the heavy bass and guitar riff seems strange, but in a funny kind of way it seems to work, giving way to a strong performance by Carpenter on guitar.

Entombed serves to calm the frenetic haze of the previous tracks, uniting angst-ridden lyrics about being under someone's spell with soothing guitar riffs. The combination of programmed beats from Frank Delgado and live beats from Abe Cunningham work well. However, whilst the song is perfectly placed, it is slightly drawn out. But no matter, the following Graphic Nature is another triumph, building on the lyrical theme of the previous track, but with stronger guitars, bass and drums.

In Tempest, the listener is once again soothed with the intro before heavy bass and insistent vocals compete for air, with the fantastic Gauze bringing up the rear and sending the band into a rhythmic mantra with Moreno spitting lyrics out in a one-sided argument. To bring perspective, the pulsating and moody Rosemary once again starts in a vapour of rhythmic guitars and samples, with Moreno's angst clearly on display as a metaphoric plane crash ensues.

Penultimate track, Goon Squad, is dark and ambient to start with, giving way to angry vocals and heavy guitars and bass. It is, however, laboured, and loses its impact because of this. Fortunately, What Happened To You? is very different, being less of a dirge and very unusual compared to the other tracks, and ends the album in a cloud of soaring guitars, unusual drumming and harmonious vocals.

So it seems that the Deftones are back on form and raring to seize the world by its throat. It will be interesting to see how this album pans out when they play it live, particularly due to the anthemic qualities, and the contrast between light and dark in the tracks. Overall this is a great album, and a surefire winner for Deftones fans.

My review score: 8/10

Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Album Review: Loreen, "Heal"

Eurovision Song Contest entrants usually either sink without trace, or end up being ridiculed to the end of their days...or at least that's the way it tends to go in the UK. It wasn't always like that; acts such as Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Bucks Fizz, Celine Dion and, most notably, Abba were embraced by the British and had musical success, but since the nineties this seems to have taken a turn, and now the Eurovision is seen by some as somewhat of a poisoned chalice.

So it was with trepidation that I listened to this year's winning entry from Sweden, performed by Loreen. Whatever misconceptions I had were immediately extinguished, because "Euphoria" is an absolutely fantastic trance track. Heartened by the fact that I actually liked a Eurovision track, I found myself browsing her album, "Heal". And because my misconceptions were completely turned on their head I decided to do an album review... Here goes....!

First off, if you're looking for every song on Loreen's album to be a dancefloor filler like the mighty "Euphoria" you will be disappointed. Instead, the album shows off her versatility across several styles, from ballads to R&B to dance. It charts the journey through a relationship, from the excitement and anticipation at the beginning, to the complacency of the partner who fails to appreciate the other as the relationship progresses, to the doubts of whether the relationship is right, and finally concluding in its demise and all of the pain and bitterness that comes with it.

Kicking off the album with "In My Head", this is a great opener with an unusual beat and bassline combination which turns it into somewhat of an earworm, charting the dizzying euphoria felt in the first flushes of a romance. This is followed by the dancefloor friendly "My Heart Is Refusing" which is reminiscent of Avicii/Tim Berg and Afrojack, and contains a good singalong build up and chorus. It tackles the conflict of being in love and refusing to believe that there is a reason to mistrust your partner.

Loreen's vocals are unfaltering, and particularly exceptional in the third track, "Everytime". With an acoustic start it is a refreshing twist and a very beautiful, haunting, downbeat song. For me it is the jewel in the album and tells of the emotional struggle to leave someone. The mood is lifted by "Euphoria", the dance anthem with a slightly baffling ship fog horn at the start.

"Crying Out Your Name" is an upbeat song with another good singalong chorus, and describes the torment of searching for the answers to a crumbling relationship at the bottom of a bottle. "Do We Even Matter" follows, and continues the theme of questioning whether the relationship matters to her partner. In a strange way it reminds me slightly of "Mama" by Genesis.

The realisation that her partner is actually a snake hits her in the following "Sidewalk", which contains a dubstep style break that really suits the song. In the upbeat "Sober" she seems to have reconciled with her partner, hoping that it is not a temporary thing. But it clearly is with the inevitable acknowledgement of the "other woman" that follows in the R&B tinged "If She's The One", with her imploring her partner to make a choice.

A more upbeat "Breaking Robot" follows, where the final throes of the relationship are laid bare. This track is reminiscent of "Get Together" by Madonna in terms of style and contains some cracking vocals from Loreen. In an effort to get the toxic relationship out of her system she embarks on a one night stand "See You Again" (which again has hints of Avicii/Afrojack's style), with all the danger signs of a rebound relationship rearing their head in her desperation to see her conquest again.

The final song of the album, "Heal" is, for me, the weakest. It's a downbeat number in which the topic of trying to salvage a relationship is touched upon, but the lyrics lack the depth of those in the rest of the album, and the song feels more laboured and lacks the strong hook of some of the others. The song also seems out of place given the story that is told throughout the rest of the album.

Overall, this album contains some poignant lyrics that are conveyed articulately and passionately by Loreen. With a good mix of ballads and upbeat songs across different styles it shows that not all Eurovision winners should be written off by my fellow countrymen without at least giving them a listen. It's certainly changed my attitude!

Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...