Can there be such a thing as arena synthwave? Carpenter Brut’s EP III answers with a resounding (and incredibly loud) yes! “Division Ruine“ answers that with it’s powerfull drum and synth hits in the intro. You can easily see this track being synced with a really elaborate light show. The song moves in really interesting and unexpected directions. The notes you might expect are very rarely the notes the song hits.
“Paradise Warfare“ follows and is a smooth song with an awesome bassline. The song eventually reaches a feverish pace that is a little oppressive as far as noise goes, only letting up for an ending that matches the opening of the song. The transition from the very loud to the more relaxed is one of the EP’s more memorable moments. “Run, Sally, Run!” is next and it maintains the uneasy and tense mood started with the other songs.
The blasting sounds of this album work best on “Turbo Killer“. After some interesting vocoder vocals, the synths hit in a very rhythmic pattern. It isn’t all at once, it’s to a very specific beat. This created something both insanely danceable and very interesting that I hope to see Carpenter Brut pursue further in the future. “Anarchy Road“ benefits from a really subdued opening with my favorite synth sound on the entire EP. This is immediately followed by some interesting vocals that fit in perfectly with the vibe that the song creates.
Okay everyone, time to talk about “Invasion A.D.” The track opens with a solid build up and very unique and metallic bass line. The real beauty of the almost 7-minute track happens around the 2:30 mark. The music cuts out before gradually rebuilding, pulling with it every ounce of tension that filled the previous tracks. It keeps building before eventually breaking out in a noisy and beautiful pulse of gut-wrenching synths and punchy drums. It gradually adds sound effects before cutting out, ending the song with nothing but atmosphere. The song is the closest our scene has to a “Paranoid Android“, and it’s a direction I would love to see more artists pursue with their songwriting.
EP III‘s greatest strength also proves to be its greatest weakness. There are several moments throughout the release where you have to strain to hear really pretty and interesting melodies because entire track is pushed to the point where you can’t pick up the nuances. Pushing the sound of your mix to this sort of length isn’t always a bad thing. I mentioned how much I loved its rhythmic use in “Turbo Killer“. The problem is that there is a fine line between a loud and aggressive mix and a really terrible modern Metallica song.
This is your music on loudness.
This is a solid release by an artist with a really unique sound. The songwriting is the highlight. Regardless of the sounds of the synth (which are mostly good), the songwriting is very original. Let us know what you think of EP III. The topic of loudness in music might be a pretty interesting thing to explore in the forums. Time to make a thread!
COMMUNITY RATING
