Friday, November 09, 2007

Review: White Noise Supremacists - Shadows


Label: I Eat Souls Records

Released: 2006

A clever name like the White Noise Supremacists could be a blessing or a curse. If the name's that clever, how clever must the music be just to live up to it? While the name may be the best thing they've done thus far, their off-kilter rhythms and subtle melodies shouldn't be dismissed.

Their sound is rather thin, seemingly by design. Over the first three tracks, the music changes just under the conscious radar, ranging from the noise pop of My Bloody Valentine to the controlled chaos of Husker Du, all the while picking up the subtleties of the Smiths' melodies. This makes for an interesting listen and leaves the verdict out as to whether this versatility is their strength or just the result of an effort to find their voice. Starting off the second half, "Glare" lends credence to the latter explanation. There's nothing wrong with it other than the fact that it's indie singer-songwriter sound has been done too many times already. Just when WNS made me doubt though, they finish the EP up with two rather subdued rock songs whose light airy, emotive vocals are vaguely reminiscent of the Cranberries. These two tracks move around a lot more, rather than ending just where they started as the first half tracks do. "If You Go," the last of these two and the album's closer, struggles to take off as the end draws near, but their restraint creates tension that makes for their finest moment on the EP. The greatest promise of all is WNS's good sense of pop music which always seems so baffling, because it is almost pure art and not be understood so much as enjoyed.

Ultimately, Shadows asks more questions about the band than it answers, but based on its early subtlety and its late pop mastery, there's good reason for positive speculation about what's coming next.

Rating: 6/10

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1 Comments:

Blogger Ray Van Horn, Jr. said...

definitely the name caught my eye on your whattya listenin' to list...it's something I want to check out anyway

6:21 AM  

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