Left Off the Dial

After popping in The 8 Album by Electro Amp Cynic, you’ll probably be in for a bit of a shock. First of all, they’re not electronic which you might guess; instead they pick up the style of the droning shoegazers, and spill out an album that drifts around in a hazy noise of swirling guitar distortion. If you’re not familiar with noise rock, this will definitely sound a bit challenging, but any fan of Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and the Jesus and Mary Chain will be shocked by the familiarity of the Electro Amp Cynic sound. Like a good Slowdive album, it’s almost impossible to distinguish one song from the next, but the opening track “Candied Skies” stands out a bit with it’s similarities to MBV’s Loveless album. Then you’ve got the vocals that sound so much like Neil Halstead that it’s a bit scary. I can quite comfortably say that if you like the aforementioned bands, you’ll probably dig Electro Amp Cynic too.

I remember reading reviews about a year or two ago when Black Rebel Motorcycle Club started up, and a lot of people chastised the band for their obvious infatuation with these same bands. But in my opinion, new bands like BRMC and Electro Amp Cynic seem like a welcome addition to the music world if for no other reason than the exciting possibility of seeing these guys live. Every original band that made this style of rock famous is basically broken up now and no longer touring. If a younger generation of US kids feels inspired by these artists, why shouldn’t they get the chance to play around with the genre?

Still, Electro Amp Cynic might need a few more tricks if they want to sell their album to the public. In some ways, the music is as if you were listening to Slowdive on broken, crackling speakers. And the mumbled unintelligible lyrics fit the shoegazing formula fine, but this again just makes it harder for the band to distinguish themselves from their influences. The last song on The 8 Album, “Pageant,” sounds the most original to me, because it layers a bunch of guitar noise right before adding a slow jungle-type drum beat that twists their sound into a new sort of realm. In general, the album sacrifices extremes by playing tug-of-war between its soft harmonies and distorted production, so it doesn’t quite relax you like Slowdive or blast you like Psychocandy era JAMC. I’d love to see these guys live someday, and I’m definitely curious to keep an eye on any future releases.

-Danny Rowe
8/25/2003

Splendid Ezine

"The gently undulating layers of fleece-soft guitar, the echoingly indecipherable vocals, and the forever-cycling half-speed rhythms will be just like home to anyone who's ever spent any significant late-night time on the couch making friends with Souvlaki"

-Sarah Zachrich
9/22/2003