Published on Feb 14, 1998
I’ve never really been that big of a sonic noise music fan – the
first time I heard the Cocteau Twins in college, they scared the
hell out of me. Admittedly, this is a bit of hypocrisy from someone
who once loved the sonic orgasm that was Napalm Death, but
hey…
Then this group from Champaign, Illinois caught my attention
courtesy of their record label – absinthe blind. This quartet
produces sonic rock without going over the top, and – good Lord! –
with a beat you can follow. Their debut album
when our flashes sway is just a sign of things to come – and
is damn near, but not quite, perfect.
Lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Adam Fein could be seen as the
centerpiece of this band, but in fact he’s not. His vocals more
often than not provide an important part of the texture that the
music becomes. Instead, it is lead guitarist Tristan Wraight who
steals the show in absinthe blind. He wisely chooses to let his
guitar ring out without a mound of distortion or effects – the
exception being the ebow, which is used brilliantly. Bassist Mike
Zolfo and drummer Seth Fein are the two other keys to this band,
providing a backbeat that keeps the basic songs in focus.
Most of the tracks on
when our flashes sway segue into one another – and though
occasionally it would be nice to hear a break between tracks, the
flow from song to song seems very natural… even planned.
From the opening guitar notes of “Bigger Thomas” you can tell
this is going to be an interesting trip. At parts seeming like the
psychadelia that Pink Floyd wanted to create (without flashing the
audio from left to right in the headphones), the Fein brothers and
crew lock you into the journey from beginning to end. After a
while, it feels so natural that you forget about following the
track listing and just let it flow.
And although some tracks may seem long timing-wise (the longest,
“Catharsis,” clocks in at just over nine minutes), the songs
themselves flow very quickly. Cuts like “Rabbit Girls,” “The Day Is
Over” and “This Room Red” stand out among the best.
In fact, there are only two problems with
when our flashes sway. Only one track is at all weak –
“Depressure/The Forces Unseen” just falls a bit flat. And, like so
many other bands, they resort to a “hidden” track at the end of the
disc – and it’s a bit of a stretch. (To their credit, though, at
least they don’t make you wait 15 minutes or make you skip through
50 four-second tracks to get to it.)
The only “negative” about Absinthe Blind is that it does take a
little bit of time to get used to their style – but if you’re
willing to invest a little time and effort to get into the groove,
you’ll find it worth it.
Absinthe Blind is a band with grand ambitions with no musical
limits, as
when our flashes sway proves – and is further proof that
real alternative music is alive and well. I’ll be looking forward
to seeing what this band does in the next few years.