Very unusual. The first minute of this demo had me expecting experimental noise, as it begins with a simple, minimal ambient tone, gradually layering in a few more subtly melodic textures and a programmed beat. But then soft singing vocals come in at the two-minute mark, and I can't decide what I make of things as a whole. Honestly I think the vocals are the crucial component for what's making it so hard for me to make up my mind. I like the music. Hell, even the ethereal sort of ambient folk stylings of the eight-minute "Iron One" interest me, but something about the vocals doesn't quite fit. Maybe it's the way the vocals are often doubled or layered? Maybe they're mixed just a tad too prominently and need to drop back in with the music more? Perhaps the beats sound a little off and distract me from gauging how the melodies of the music and the vocals really combine? One sure point to make is that this guy has a lot of talent. There's no denying that. This is absolutely not a bad demo. The recording quality is excellent, the music is very well put together, and he's actually a competent vocalist as well. There's definitely something missing, some key element or "fix" that could really put this on the map, but I can't place it. Part of it might be personal taste, but I'm not turned away by this in the least, and I could see it being something I could really get into, at least in large part. Whatever it is, the vocals are a part of it though, because the lush and laidback instrumental "Lullaby" is fucking great... I'm definitely a full blown fan of that one. The melodies flow well, the beats feel more at home, and the atmosphere is really calm and billowing, using only accent vocal hums to add additional depth. The CD-R comes in nothing but a clear slim jewel case with some abstract color art and minimal text printed on the face. Normally I would probably decide not to review something that basically has no real packaging whatsoever as I find such a decision to be an immensely poor one that doesn't represent a project well, but truth be told this does have a nice appearance that somehow caught my eye, so that's interesting. I don't know what else to say about this. I like some of it, and I can see that a lot of effort and professionalism went into it, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. But I would definitely try to work harder at the vocals and the drum programming, because the vocals often feel out of place and the beats just come off as too generic and one-sided tonally and stylistically, so... this is surprising, though. Definitely different.
[self-released]
Running time - 28:47, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Lullaby]
July - 2nd
