Album: Gangs
Released: 2011
I'll be honest and say that instrumental music is not necessarily my forte. If I do listen to instrumental stuff it's usually ambient and chilled. Nevertheless, I've stumbled across a lot of praise for ASIWYFA on various music websites and social media platforms. For anyone who isn't familiar, they're a four-piece band from Belfast, and so far they've released three studio albums, with a fourth effort coming later in the year.
Opening with a song entitled BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION sets me up for what could be the most pretentious sounding record I've encountered, but I found the song NOTBADATALLQUITEENJOYABLEACTUALLY. This is followed by what sounds like Dragonforce on tranquillizers, fading into a grunge breakdown halfway through and wading through various other genres like nobody's business. This is the monster we call Gangs (Starting Never Stopping). Search:Party:Animal metals things up again after a lighter end to Gangs, and 7 Billion People All Alive At Once introduces the gang vocals of ASIWYFA into the fray over an uplifting tune.
Think:Breathe:Destroy sounds all too familiar, but still awash with beauty. Homes - Ghost Parlor KA -6 To... is arguably the weirdest song title I've heard, and the song takes a noticeable dip in quality to what has already been on display on this record. The fact that it lasts under three minutes long is a clear anomaly in an album bursting at the seams with five minute opus'. Luckily, the riffs are heavy and the amps are volcanic on Homes - ...Samara To Belfast, which is a most welcome change from the first part of the song. It's also here that you realise why the previous two songs are titled as such... still can't grasp the need for all these "wow look at us being so alternative" style song titles though. Is there meaning behind them or is it a fashion statement? For all the tongue in cheek jibes I get for, allegedly, being a hipster, I can't get on board with it. But I digress. Closing track Lifeproof is an album highlight chock full of hooks, and is one of the most straightforward tracks on the album to bring the listener back to Earth after listening to the two-part song beforehand.
The musical emotions exuded on Gangs diverts between the joy of pogoing, uplifting hooks and grandiose, crushing riffs. When a band can find the right balance with all of these qualities and not make it sound overcooked, then you're onto a winner. When a band can do that without a lead vocalist, then full credit should go to them. Have ASIWYFA achieved it on Gangs? I don't think so, but that should not take away from the skills this quartet possess; people should know just how unappreciated this band are, and then do something about it.
Rating: 8/10
Recommended songs: Gangs (Starting Never Stopping), Search:Party:Animal
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