Crunch Pod
Probably every artist will admit to each album being difficult in the perspective of it always being compared to the one before. But the most difficult one will always being the dreaded "second". A first album is where you make a statement, the second one is where you have to continue the style you developed and try to re-connect to the audience that gave you a chance with your firstborn; Deliver on the created expectations ...
'Visitor Attractions' is Tony Young's much anticipated second full album and - like 'You are my all and more' - it is release on the Crunch Pod label. The basic info for this album is that it has fourteen tracks, of which four are remixes (by Unter Null, Stendeck, Detritus and Displacer) and one of the tracks is made in collaboration with It-Clings and Pneumatic Detach.
So there are a few questions to be answered, the first of which is "Does Tony deliver?" And that question can only be answered with a big smile on your face. Yes, Tony does deliver and this album is actually much more mature then 'You are my all and more'. The 'angry boy' attitude has been pretty much disappeared and made room for much more balanced compositions.
This 'angry boy' attitude on the first CD was somehow audible in an undecisiveness concerning the target audience being the industrial or the IDM scene. It doesn't mean something bad, it just means the first CD was a tiny bit schizoid. Reading back the first review, the remixes on that album were from a.o. Pneumatic Detach and Iszoloscope while for example Stendeck and Displacer take care of a much more IDM-ish approach to complete this release.
A few words on some of the tracks which will make it easier to decide on wether you should buy it directly or if you want to chase it down once it's sold out. 'This is untitled' reminded me of Delerium. Probably only because of the used choral, because the rest of the track is quite hectic with a great drive and it doesn't come close to Delerium at all.
'Miags' contains spoken word by the Canadian Squid who doesn't like people and makes sure everybody suffers accordingly. The rhythms on this tracks are definitly the most intrusive on the CD.
And finally the beatless ambient piece 'We all have a window'. The pianosounds come out very good, though perhaps the string section should have been a little more subtle. That way the track could've had a more minimal touch which would have added to the intelligence of the album.
So to make a long story short 'Visitor Attractions' is worth it, without any doubt. You can hear that the artist is still developing himself and in my dictionary that's a good sign. Because it means there will be a next album.
And that is good.
Comments
Post a Comment