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EchoTest: From Two Balconies
ByThe indirect influence of old-school prog comes through in spots; the words have a vague dramatic story theme and the Peter Gabriel-ish headdresses on those cover figures might not be a complete coincidence. Nonetheless, the electronic sound-sculpting and punchy production leave no doubt just which century we're living in. Touches of Pink Floyd, electric Miles Davis and Nine Inch Nails all come out of the blender sounding lively and fresh, and the band's hearty go-for-it attitude keeps the patchwork quality feeling like an asset more than a flaw.
Slick has sonic weirdness in her DNAboth a cause and effect of a decade holding her own alongside Adrian Belewand the band's taste for effects gives an especially powerful jolt with the noisy thrakking of "Confirmation Bias" or the oddball surf-punk-meets-Krautrock chant "Radio Sayonara." Machera's crooning is respectively awed and paranoid in his couple vocal spots, while he's happy to turn the mike over to Claire Wadsworth when it's time for a haunting filtered ballad instead. Mike Visser's gritty delivery, meanwhile, is much better suited to "The Plights"'s edgy abrasive strings and the hard-drivingly catchy "Rack+Ruin."
Instrumental pieces are in the minority this time, though they're no less evocative. "Beats in the Brain" makes a great showcase for Pat Mastelotto's drum grooves amidst enough wailing echoes to live up to the group's name; the extended improvisational flow of "Reflect/ Reflex" goes from synth-y space battle to jungle drums before the album fades to a close. It all fits in the progressive-rock world while ambitiously staking out places the genre might go next. With their most energized outing to date, EchoTest remains an inspired outfit crazy enough to try anything and clever enough to make it work.
Track Listing
Supercell; Rack+Ruin; The Mystical Connected Us; Confirmation Bias; Beats in the Brain; The Plight; Sense of Urgency; Pity; Radio Sayonara; Reflect/Reflex.
Personnel
EchoTest
clarinet, bassJulie Slick: bass VI, drum programs; Marco Machera: bass V, vocals; Alessandro Inolti: drums; Tim Motzer: guitar (1, 3, 5, 10); Ian Gray: trombone (1, 6); Greg Rosen: trumpet (1, 6); Zach LoPresti: guitar (1); Mike Visser: vocals (1, 2, 6), guitar (8); Ali Wadsworth: vocals (3, 6, 8, 10); Pat Mastelotto: drums (3, 5); Sarah "Flossy" Anderson: violin (6); Claire Wadsworth: vocals, piano (8); Gary Slick: vocals (9).
Album information
Title: From Two Balconies | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced
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About EchoTest
Instrument: Clarinet, bass
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