Fax Arcana "The Ritual in Routine" CD
[Alone]
This band features former members of Burn it Down, Usurp Synapse, Ice 9, and Rapider Than Horsepower along with current members of Rep Seki, and Majas, but it sounds quite different from most of those acts in large part. The only real connection could be drawn between a certain air of discordance and a truly twisted sense of melody or emphasis on rhythm and somewhat frenzied arrangements. But here things are far calmer, opting for unusually sung vocals that are soft and at times a little warbled (honestly, to me the guy sounds kind of like Danzig with a higher voice), as well as a dry, open sound without a lot of distortion. So the mix ends up being really clear and lets all of the layering and interaction between instruments ring clear. I'm not sure how I feel about the singing style, I don't dislike it, but the layering gets on my nerves sometimes. The guitar playing is a little more angular than I usually prefer as well, though the undercurrents of melody do hold my interest. The recording is really good for this style, though. The drums sound awesome, the bass is thick but defined and has its own space, and I can't complain about the guitar tone either. "Medusa on Top" picks up the pace a little and contains a few more straightforward runs driven by the rhythm section, and the singing is a little more emphatic as well, so it definitely stands out as the most memorable piece here. "Hush Now" is then a bit darker and also more emotional, which stands apart from the first few songs, using lots of tremolo picking with slower layers of arpeggiated guitars and pounding percussion/bass. This sort of approach continues in a more refined sense in "Operator". The last three tracks are definitely stronger and more interesting than the opening set of three (granted the droning notes in opening intro "Ley Lines and Dim Lights" are sort of cool), which is uncommon. For some reason they decided to end this track with the sound of a phone off the hook, but they drag it out for more than 40 minutes... which is basically just a waste of space, but whatever. The artwork and text is all fairly minimal, printed in black on a metallic gold background, so it looks fairly good. The lyrics are unusual, and I could go either way on that. I definitely appreciate that they're approaching things in a different manner, even though the end result still doesn't click with me per se. "A desert in me with a quicksand skull beneath the meat doused in cologne. My subtle sinew cloak. These ghosts are sexless telepaths as thin as lingerie..." Interesting work. I'm not totally into it, but I can appreciate it. As far as this jangly sort of obscure indie stuff goes this band does have their own vibe happening, if for no other reason than the vocals are very creative compared to most of these acts. Not bad... (6/10)
Running time - 17:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Medusa on Top, Operator]
Alone Records - http://www.alonerecords.com

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