Electric Colony- Electric Colony

ARTIST: Electric Colony
ALBUM: Electric Colony
LABEL: Self-released
REVIEWER: Matthew J.
DATE: 4-28-08

Brilliantly, gloriously heavy, psychedelic, and eclectic, the debut full-length from Electric Colony is hard to describe with traditional categories. It's a bit like what a team-up between the Chemical Brothers and My Bloody Valentine might sound like, or perhaps what latter-day Curve could've sounded like had they amped up their guitars at the same time they moved in a more techno-oriented direction. Mostly instrumental, Electric Colony's music is defined by its massive walls of overdriven and effects-drenched guitar sound, which range from the overlapping harmonic wails of "Returning Sun" to the chunky, almost metal-inspired chords of "Nexus 6." Without departing from the album's unified aesthetic, Electric Colony manages to shift from contemplative, trance-inducing guitar shimmer on "Nearly There" to unabashedly head-banging riffs on "1482784792." And that's not even mentioning the beats and loops! If you listen hard enough through the crashing waves of guitar (or if the feedback has damaged your ears to the point where all you can hear is bass), you'll notice driving electronics, loops of shouting, and epic layers of synth texture. "Ellipse" is downright funky, while "Descent II," itself a reworking of the brutal yet harmonic "Descent," is even a bit reminiscent of Paul Oakenfold's more rock-inspired tracks. While this album does feature occasional vocals, they're so few and far between as to be almost unforgettable; while the wavering wisps on "No Mercy Shown" recall Jesus and Mary Chain's earlier, noisier material, the rest of the vocals on this album are so buried beneath the overwhelming sonic onslaught that they function more as added texture than anything else. This isn't the kind of music you listen to with lyrics sheet in hand, anyway; it's more like an ultra-heavy permutation of the Cocteau Twins approach, all meaning subsumed in visceral waves of dissonance and harmony until you're either floating on waves of bliss or torn apart by the onslaught. Either way, it's an extremely impressive offering, beholden to no trend or market past or present, but sure to appeal to anyone with an ear for a truly different approach.

For more information about Electric Colony, visit the project's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/electriccolony.