This is my first exposure to this San Diego act, and their brand of instrumental exploration creates an unusual concoction of jazz fusion, progressive rock, math metal, etc. They don't really use much distortion at all (honestly there seems to be a little more fuzz to the bass than the guitars at times), there's a hefty moog presence, and they've actually got two drummers, all uniting for lots of spacey effects and stuttered compositions very heavily emphasizing rhythm. From laidback clean passages with droning effects to frantic blasts of percussion with noisy keyboards and a wackier sort of chaotic side, there's a lot going on here. I can't decide how I feel about it, either. It's definitely rare to hear a band with two drummers, and they tend to keep that aspect reigned in here, so it's not completely blatant, and there are some cool elements, but as a whole I'm not all that impressed. It's clear that they're very musically adept, but I find much more power in the rhythm section than anything else. I tend to become agitated by this type of technical riffing coming from distortion-less guitars, and the keyboard presence is an irritation for me most of the time as well. I prefer some of the more repetitive jaunts where basslines add additional melody and the guitars stay a bit more abstract (more melody all around would actually be a nice touch, though). Side A drops a cover of Goblin 's "Night of the Goblin" midway through, and it definitely has more of a tangible prog rock thing happening, but you can still see where that influence plays into Upsilon Acrux's original compositions. I'm not sure where curiously silly titles like "When Satan Ruled the Ocean, Jesus Made My Fish Tank Boil" or "The Seventh Gateway of Ninib Called Adarj" are coming from, but they do actually pull it off, ha... The recording is pretty much fine. I'll give 'em that. The bass is clear and incredibly dominant, the percussion is warm and detailed and definitely holds everything down, the plain guitar tones basically get the job done without being weak, and the moogs are mixed well so as not to overpower any more important instrumentation. As mentioned previously, the rhythm section is the most powerful source here, and the recording definitely lets that shine. The LP is housed in an excellent sleeve layering a two-color transparency over light gray paper for contrast. The transparency is printed in the darkest black possible with some vibrant red on the cover, and the back is all text - crisp and bold. It's a simple presentation, but one where the smallest nuances really make a difference. Musically this is not exactly my thing overall, and slightly boring in my opinion (diverse in theory, but still somewhat one-sided in its entirety), though it's definitely not bad. There's a definite audience that will appreciate this more than I, and I could imagine the band doing some amazing work, but I personally would need to hear something a bit more fluid or perhaps moving.
[Epicene]
Running time - 40:00 (approximately), Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: A Quart of Zolex, Night of the Goblin, 45 Rodents]
Epicene Sound Systems - http://www.epicenesoundsystems.com
