Damn, Infernal Racket said they were changing things up a bit, and they weren't kidding. From a label known for sludgy, heavy rock comes an EP from this Philadelphia emo/indie rock or whatever band dropping some awesome vocal harmonies and just the right mix of clean passages with upbeat distorted chord progressions and melodic runs. They've got three guitarists, one of whom does additional vocals, and it's pretty damn cool if you ask me. The songs are catchy without being what I would consider to be too poppy or anything like that, although... when I think about it this band could probably easily become rather successful with a major label budget. Shit, "Grain of Salt" is pretty poppy... yeah, I don't know. But I don't mean "poppy" in a bad way at all. These are just good songs, bottomline. And they make good use of guitar interaction as well, the guitars rarely play the same thing, there's a lot of panning, and I love the way they use lead lines or arpeggios against more straightforward chords and such. Both vocalists have great voices as well, so the harmonies are so fucking sweet. The only slight drawback is that the recording is too raw for their style. It's not so bad, but it needs to be a little bit cleaner and well rounded for the songs to really reach their full potential. I love the resonance of the drumming and the presence of the bass, but a little bit more brightness wouldn't hurt (especially on the vocals), and the guitars and vocals feel slightly separated from the rhythm section. I'd try to smooth out the distorted guitars a little bit and give the vocals a little more emphasis (but not too much) while pulling the mix together a tad. The layout is sort of strange. It's very minimal with tight text, a blurry yet colorful live band photo, some diagrams of orbit patterns, and this weird metallic 3-D mass of... something!? I don't know. None of the lyrics are included, just the lineup and some other information regarding the recording. No big deal I suppose. This is a damn solid debut EP. I won't be the least bit surprised if this band is a hell of a lot more well-known a year from now, if not sooner.
[Infernal Racket]
Running time - 19:49, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Grain of Salt, Try]
Infernal Racket - http://www.infernalracket.com
