One of the first instrumental bands I ever listened to and really enjoyed was The Cancer Conspiracy. I also got into instrumental math rock for a little bit, but I feel like instrumental music has always been there- with songs like "Wipe Out" and that one where they stop to say "Tequila!". What Electro-Kraken does on this cassette is unlike anything instrumental I have ever heard before and it even transcends a lot of what artists with singers accomplish.
For the simple term of this, it can be described as surf punk. It just has that drum beat, those long guitar stretches and the feeling of someone sliding their pick down the guitar string. The presence of surf is immediate and lingers throughout the cassette but it isn't the only factor in this music. No, this somehow takes on several different other aspects while remaining true to its surf core I'd say.
Underneath this all and perhaps underneath all surf music really is the rock n roll quality. The music is able to paint that image in your mind where you could see these guitar riffs being played by someone such as Chuck Berry only, you know, Electro-Kraken takes them to the next level. It reminds me of Primus in how complex it is. There is neither really a lead with the bass or guitar-- they seem to be equally important and playing together which makes for a better overall sound.
Though there are fun aspects to this (I could see it as the soundtrack to a surf or skate video), it also becomes wild and crazy. I think of math rock on some level, but it's amped up. You have to consider that normal speed of the type of music I'm putting this in the genre of and then heighten it to levels the likes of which I've not heard before. In the delivery, it can also be aggressive. There is that underlying quality to it all where you might not want to mess with the people playing it, you know, it's not that it sounds hardcore in the music sense but it does convey that vibe which portrays it as not meaning to be fucked with.
No comments:
Post a Comment