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Marche La Void - Cacophonia
Score: 6/10
Marche La Void, a burgeoning group of upstart musicians based out of Indonesia, dropped a four-song EP onto the landscape a while back entitled Cacophonia that piques the interest of the consumer but leaves the listener realizing afterward that the band is making its first foray into a musical realm that is just as hard to get noticed as it is to be distinguished amongst the crowd.
Their debut release is not quite slowcore, nor is it down-tempo for that matter, but like most music with depth, it's an excellent listen with a pair of good headphones. The mastering is top notch, and whatever ambience the band is shooting for is dutifully translated through the ramshackle collection of instruments at hand.
If there's a conflict on this record, then perhaps Cacophonia doesn't know about its existence. It wants to be a moody post-rocker or at least a drone-like evolution of a similar state. Vocals are random, not always intelligible, and not always the best fit with the oft-times tranquil mood established by the distortion-laden guitars. When the lyrics require some emotion, the resulting sound is similar to Chris de Burgh entering the studio to re-record "Lady in Red" but standing about 10 paces behind the microphone.
Ultimately, the vocal tracks verge on the edge of being whiny at times but fade to a distant, echo-like resonance - almost like the wail of a dusty string instrument. One can detect a sort of pain or even disdain with some of the cries, but he's not about to tell you what's causing his malaise. We are left to wonder, much like with the album, what could be done to improve upon the situation. The vocals are also unable to elaborate on the hard-hitting emotion that sits at the underbelly of this record. Its strength lies in its instruments, which often meander as well, but leave a far more effective impact upon the listener.
When slow progressive builds make way for the entrance of drums after the first track is more than half completed, one can tell there's been careful attention to the arrangements. The mixture that works pretty well is featured on "Fortified Emptiness," a track with vocals backwashed against the album's most aggressive display of drums and electric guitar. But even with this highlight, we still have an identity crisis on our hands. The strongest instrumental performance of the album is present on the track with the most distracting set of vocals on the disc. They simply don't belong and distract from the music that one wants to hear.
By the conclusion of the nearly nine-minute finale, the listener isn't looking for the repeat button – they've already fulfilled the afternoon's obligation for a siesta. Marche La Void has the groundwork to become a very successful ambient outfit. The group simply needs to polish some of the dust and make its product more distinguishable. When we get finished listening to their full-length release to come forth at a later date, we will hopefully replay it once or twice instead of nodding with content and sending the scroll wheels on our iPods scrambling to more comfortable music.
-Bill Morgal
http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Reviews/tabid/54/ctl/Details/mid/438/ItemID/1541/Default.aspx
10:34 PM
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