review :: Royce Icon
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I got this I:scintilla cd in the mail about a week ago and I've been listening to it a lot. I'd heard their stuff online prior to hearing the album and liked it, but I:scintilla is definitely a band that excels in the album format , as all the tracks here compliment each other and sound perfect back to back. Really good stuff...
One of the things that turns me off about a lot of coldwave, aside from the self indulgent nature of some of the projects, is the vocals. They're usually either outright annoying or they just sound way too bored. Lucky for me, I:scintilla vocalist Brittany Bindrim is neither annoying or bored sounding. On the contrary, her vocals are extremely emotional and intense, varying somewhere between Kidney Thieves' Free dominguez and Tapping the vein's Heather Thompson .
But it's not just the vocals that kick ass here, though they are definitely the highlight for me.
The music is really good coldwave with nice riffs and somewhat experimental ambient textures here and there, though the majority of the music is planted firmly in more conventional rock territory, which in this context isn't really a bad thing at all. The production job is really good, and the songs are well written and put together. But as I said, the vocals are what really makes me love this cd.
Conclusion:
Spotless, flowing production, crunchy riffs, inventive synth work, and extremely good vocals make "The Approach" a kickass debut disc. If you dig stuff like Tapping the vein, Kidney Thieves, and Snake River Conspiracy, You should definitely buy this cd. Even if you don't like those bands, take a chance, you might like what you hear.
