Minimalist DelusionThem Airs - Echo Park Bomb City (2019)
The second (or third...?) album by these quirky fellas, from the self-proclaimed "most scientific band in Connecticut". I went for some three days listening to nothing but nine albums throughout the day, and this was one of them. Probably the one I kept on listening to for the longest before dropping, like I did almost every album from that run. The guitar play is really fun and kinda comforting too
□■■■■ | 7
Zachary
I was certainly thrown in for a surprise here, with how this song couldn't seem to stay in one given place. The guitars are pretty playful though! Also that drone half is really beautiful and enhances the moment when the next track hits
■■■■■ | 3
Tunxis Valley
It's such a euphoric moment when this track begins and frantically scrambles itself together. The verses are quite catchy as they come, but the trick of removing the last eighth note of each one definitely catches the listener's ear off-guard (they got the 63/8 beat!!) Overall it's a more melodic offering than its predecessor and the guitars roar in a bright, upbeat way :)
□■■■■ | 9
Bribery Tactics
This one has a pretty dreamy texture going on, and the contrast it lays down with the deadpan spoken word is something very unique to their sound. The chorus feels somewhat empty to me. But then the last section starts galloping into a higher plane in a pretty remarkable way before it crashes back down.
■■■■■ | 4
Winch
That rhythm that kicks in at the very start is crazy! It goes out of phase with itself and everything, it must be complicated to play on a drum kit. Either way, the section in the middle really ties it all together with its unbridled urgency,, it gives an even more frenetic feel to this song which I really enjoy :3
■■■■■ | 2
Lot 2 Parking Guide
This one only settled in for me after like 15 listens, and boy did it set in. It's such a pretty sequence of chords! It sends you off in a contemplative mood, which I gotta admit is a pretty radical change of pace in the album xD a friend of theirs told me this was made in a hotel, which might explain the sterile, droney sound throughout most of it, and I really like it when you can start faintly hearing drums in the background :D either way this is such an excellent prelude to the next track
■■■■■ | 1
Dreamt of a House
How can they make such a beautiful metallic sound out of guitars? It's really captivating =w= and the vocals sound quite foreboding as well. It in fact presages the very awesome second half of this song (not before a sublime guitar passage, of course!), where the guitars intertwine so delicately and weave a beautiful curtain the rest of the band rests snugly on top of :3 it's got to be the highest point of this album for me!
□■■■■ | 5
Leaning Together
Such a cool 11/8 beat :D it swiftly switches into a segment with one of those walls of spoken word that just suit this band so well, under which the guitars really remind me of a This Heat song. Most of this track however is spent on a slow-burning coda which tickles my minimalist fancy :3 don't miss out on how at the beginning they replace the last drumstick click with the word "Four!" either, I think that's pretty funny xD
□■■■■ | 10
Anklet
The band recommends this track in their also Neocities-powered website, even though it's just 31 seconds long xD I think it's just them fooling around, but even then I really like the glitchy, jittery guitar in this :3
□■■■■ | 6
Harvest Fighter
More minimalist composition! :3 does that guitar really hold on to that chord for under a minute? The refrain does it too! Every line of the lyrics is separated by a pretty long segment of what I'd call very subdued shredding xD it's still quite a warm song to me and I quite like it :3
□□■■■ | 11
Ten-Go
The guitars in this one roar more aggressively than in the rest of the album, I'd say >:3 it also flirts a bit with noise rock, with that insistent bludgeoning portion after every verse (that funny melody that sounds like it comes from a toy also counts!). I still don't understand why he's so pushy about "the trees" though
□□■■■ | 12
Calving
Half-lullaby, half-pastoral reflection. A well deserved rest after the sonic onslaught that came before xD
□■■■■ | 8
Lake Moms Task Force
Another friendly song sends us off. I really like how the drum intro sounds, the tambourine lines it up really nicely :3 and the guitars do a really nice interplay in the first portion as well :D
