Sometimes, here at ÜR, we get something so leftfield that we don’t even realise quite how far out it is until we give it its first spin. Lots of things claim to be experimental these days without even really getting 1mm off the tried and tested footpath, yet ‘Skeleton Blush’ is definitely a release you cannot accuse that of.
As my first personal introduction to WSR, I – just about – nail down how I would describe them by the end of the album, which is if King Crimson and Mr Bungle had a bastard child who created music for dystopian zombie vaudeville funfairs. What does this entail, you might ask? Offbeats, highly experimental music that manages to include bursts of harmony into an otherwise cacophonous array of discordant yet enjoyable noise, that continue to evolve throughout the release may just about cover it!
Male vocals that go from an almost Frank Sinatra croon in title track ‘Skeleton Blush’ echo a quite laid back Mike Patton approach in ‘Aou’, something not easily done yet managed very well amongst the female vocals that also arc in different directions, spiking and dropping as does the music, leaving a highly complex layer of arrangement that will need a few listens to hear everything that’s in there. The range of soft and melodic to the outright noise shows a strong ear for songwriting and arrangement that can be very hard to attain at this level of experimentalism, yet it’s one that World Sanguine Report seem to attain with both a minimum of fuss and of effort.
While the above track is not from this album, it will certainly give you a taste of what to expect from this release. Deliberately a little bit all over the place, it makes for an intriguing approach to the very experimental end of alternative, with 15 tracks ranging from just over a minute to just over six, with each track separate yet still adding plausible content to the album. It will not be suited to everyone and their music taste, but that’s the path of the experimentalist and this release does a good job of just about keeping to the line between noise for noise sake and actual musical visionary in its approach. It’s an album I can see myself returning to when I am in the mood for something with a lot more complexity to it and its structure.
Those into their experimental or maybe even the less stringent end of prog may find themselves drawn bit by bit into a world where slightly off colour is the norm, where even your skeleton may blush.
- ‘Skeleton Blush’ is released tomorrow (Friday 10 July. You can get your copy HERE.
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