The Fugue "Mysterious Animals" CD
[Recommended if You Like]
Four tracks off odd material that's largely based around a twisted, angular indie/noise rock sound, with little teeny bits of post-hardcore and "hip" retro rock thrown in for added variety. Opener "Rumble Bee" is probably my favorite track as its pulsing bassline is pretty damn slick, and even the winding, acerbic guitars feel controlled and somewhat restrained compared to some of what's to come. I guess you could call this track a little artier, what with its quaint spoken vocals and somewhat abstract structure, but whatever the case the rhythm section kicks ass in this one, and I'm definitely into it. But then "Molasses the Animal" is a little more frantic and noisy, with lots of caustic guitars and vocals that jump from yelling to screaming, while the basslines run around with the percussion to pick up the pace a little more; while the similar "Gun Wolf" breaks up the rhythms a little more and also locks in with a couple more tangible rhythms to give the track an edge over its immediate predecessor due to its longer and more dynamic running time. The vocals in closer "Whale Egg" are filtered and creep up front in the mix, while the guitars flirt with a couple of rock 'n' roll devices amidst the noisier picking patterns - all of which is helped along by a solid midpaced tempo that tends to build on repetition fairly effectively. Regardless of what I think of the music, I do like the recording. Al of the instruments are well balanced, the mix is clear, there's a good sense of warmth right in the center, etc. I dig that the vocals rest right in with the instruments, the percussion sounds great for this style, the basslines are very prominent and really play a large role in driving the tracks, and the way that some of the fucked up guitar noises and ringing textures shine through is pretty cool as well. No complaints from me. The design is kind of weird and consists almost entirely of wacky looking text that's a little hard to read. There's a bit of color and some strange sketchy elements, but that's about it. No lyrics or anything, which is a shame since you can't really make out any of the vocal content at all. This isn't so bad overall, it's just not really my thing. I'm pretty picky when it comes to this particular niche of music, so it's not easy for bands of this general nature to completely win me over, so... in their defense, the fact that I made it through a continuous 15 minutes of material and actually enjoyed certain elements does point to potential for listeners more in tune with styles such as these. "Rumble Bee" is a keeper, so... if they dropped a few more numbers like that I might be swayed myself. (6/10)
Running time - 15:22, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Rumble Bee, Whale Egg]
Recommended if You Like Records - http://www.riylrecords.com

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