Buffalo's electronica scene is severely underrated. Llast week's Album of the Week was the incredible Huntress by Camp Counselors (fun fact: buffaBLOGGER Mike Moretti selected Huntress as his choice for best album of 2013 so far). This week's Album of the Week comes from another buffaBLOG favorite, Early Attic. Their new album, Parallels, is full of catchy synth-laden indie rock a la MGMT or Phoenix. Not convinced? Check out the hazy synths in "Shadow" - that synth line could be selling MGMT a few hundred thousand albums right now.
After kicking things off with the synth-heavy title track "Parallels," Early Attic launches into the 6:10 long, "Just the Enemy." Throughout the song, a fuzzed-out guitar keeps a steady backing track as the rest of the instruments swirl in and out of focus. At times, it's hard to tell whether Early Attic are an indie-rock band experimenting and ultimately embracing a synth-heavy sound, or whether they are a synth-heavy band trying to embrace a more traditional four-piece approach, but that is part of the magic of this act. The next song, "We're All Human," finds them playing with an arpeggiated synth line, layering the song thick with distant vocal 'ohs' and a thumping bass line. In general, Early Attic is fairly blissed-out, but these two particular tracks have a distinct, driving intensity that get the album going on a powerful note.
"Peaks" is one of the album's more subtle songs , but still exists in true Early Attic fashion. "Peaks" has an unmistakable nineties vibe, as if Early Attic borrowed the paradigm of a nineties pop artist and applied it to their own writing style. Although singer Matt McCheskey's voice is more than fitting for the song, I could absolutely see this song existing in '92, with some sort of Tibetan monk chant layered onto it. I know that might not be a flattering comparison for some artists, but I actually found "Peaks" to be one of the most refreshing points on Parallels, appreciating the fact that it forced me to look at the group (and any disdain I may have had for 90s pop music fads) in a different light.
"Patterns" just happened to make our list of the best local songs of 2012, and for good reason. Sporting some of the catchiest synth hooks on the album, "Patterns" gets my vote for favorite song. Not far behind (in addition to the delightful aforementioned "Shadow") is the pulsing "Vault," highly reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, chock full of chunky, buzzy synths and almost dissonant blasts of guitar. Again, we find Early Attic reaching just outside their comfort zone; however, they're smart enough to know not to reach too far.
The unique "Slip" closes out Parallels just as strongly as it opened. Rushing synth hisses rise and fall quietly behind a Sleigh Bells-influenced drum beat. Early Attics have created a synth-heavy album that doesn't rely too much on one stereotypical brand of electronica. Parallels refreshingly embraces a number of different niches within the indie rock/electronica spectrum. Early Attic is able to tackle a number of sub-genres within electronica to create an engaging experience.
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