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This is an album that was put together by a gentleman that goes by the pseudonym of wizardcombat, and was created between the months of April and December 2009. He's done a few other things for my [Concatenation Records] label, namely the three tracks (under various projects) that he contributed to the [Nevar Say Die! Compilation, Volume Three] album. Back to the subject at hand, Strongth! was released on Tuesday – it’s comprised of 16 tracks and runs just under 46 minutes. Here’s my track by track review. Track 01 – Hunchback Kidzzz The album starts off with a track that’s a little more abstract than the rest of the album, but settles into a nice rhythm by the 45 second mark that eventually dissipates and returns later. This track has a lot of stop/start moments and interesting musical ideas abound. Track 02 – Ice Cold The Second This tune has a hard-driving rhythm and icy keyboards that accentuate the somewhat ominous tone. A lot of layers are built and the tension increases with each addition before it backs off to the opening feel. I’ll tell you what – this son of a bitch is ice cold. Track 03 – Scene Missing Likely the tune with the most laid back and creepy intro, it evolves into some rather bouncy minor key melodies and beats. This cycles through these two themes, leaving the listener a bit disoriented in a good way. Track 04 – Pickle Potato Starting with a hard-driving kick and eerie keyboard tones, this song means business from the get go. Even in the moments where the beat drops out, it’s still propelled forward by a quickly-oscillating synth. This one is a little disconcerting, but like Scene Missing, in a good way. Track 05 – Om Nom Nom Jumping out of the gate with a warp-speed breakbeat, this track slowly decelerates into an all-too-familiar sample before building things up and breaking them down again, then building them up again. This track is on the erratic side, but it’s never a dull listen as there’s a lot going on. Track 06 – Methmagicland This one is ominous, yet cheerful at the same time. It kind of bounces along until a monster beat shows up and brings with it a huge bassline, some rave/trance keyboards and steel drum samples. It drops out for a moment before building back up even more. This track is a little crazy-making, but considering the title, I think that’s the idea. Track 07 – The Futz This one’s definitely a contender for being the “dance it off” hit of the album. The bass is fast, the keyboards are cheerful and melodious, and even with the beat change halfway through the track, the danceability never wears off. The original theme returns shortly after the beat changes and drives its way to the end of the song with a nice variation to close things out. Track 08 – A Brodak Moment This track start out bass and drum-oriented, but the melody eventually takes over with force and lets up about halfway through the song. By then, the beat and bass have caught and continue to propel things along. At about the 2:30 mark, a nice saw synth shows up to give the track a little more jagged edge for the final two minutes which are rather hard-charging. A very deliberate beat with thick layering ends the track on a rather strong note. Track 09 – Banking Tingler A very nice little breather from the furious action, it has a solemn, yet uplifting peacefulness to it. The xylophone samples are a nice touch and they help to invoke the calmness of this track. Then it’s gone before you know it. Track 10 – D.I.P.P.S., Inc. This one has a nice juxtaposition of large and fragile sounds and it moves along at a nice mellow pace. A little on the sorrowful side, but it’s not depressing at all – in fact, it’s very nice to listen to. Also gone before you know it. Track 11 – Spiderdroid This tune is driven a rather huge bassline and is somewhat eerie and mechanical, like I’d imagine a "Spiderdroid" would be. It eventually turns into a creepy buzzing mass punctuated by a scream before getting even more haunting. It ends on the sound of people in terror, thus making this track the most ominous on the album by far. Track 12 – Blue Juice On White Carpet Another “dance it off” contender, it’s got a really driving beat and a monstrous rhythm. Even in the moments when it lets up, you know it’s going to come back with a vengeance – and it does. This one makes you want to move! Track 13 – PLEASE HELP ME I AM IN A DISCO This one starts off with a reggae feel before coming in with a hard-charging, four-on-the-floor beat that mostly sticks around for the rest of the song. This one is also very rhythm-driven and straightforward, with the melody laying out for the most part. It’s there but it’s very sparse, which suits the song well. Track 14 – Excuse Me, Princess My vote for the “dance it off” winner, as this track is oh so funky! The backbeat is huge and the bass works so well with it. The melodic lines drive the song and lay out when they need to. The song builds and relieves tension precisely and the funk at the end of the song is really hard to beat. One of my favorites on the album, no doubt! Track 15 – Chess Helmet A very strong kick drum propels this track along, as it would likely be rather mellow without it. It has some nice melodies in the upper range before things really get going about halfway through the track, which is when a monster bassline shows up. Things build for a while until an earlier theme returns, then it concludes quickly. Track 16 – Tingly Banker A nice upbeat mellow track to round out the album, it starts out sleepy while still having a strong beat. It begins to morph into a something more rumpshaking about a quarter of the way through. Even when the melody and samples drop out, the bass and drums keep this one moving. A complete variation in theme about 2/3rds of the way through doesn’t change the momentum, but then it’s gone and the original theme is back with a vengeance. The track ends on a noise squall and a few samples show up, then it’s over and done. This album is a very interesting and great electronic collection, and you can download it for free from the following link – [The Sticky Situation – Strongth!] Discuss this post at [The Forum of Jason Vincion]! Posted on December 11th, 2009. |
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