lespecial New Album and Tour Dates
lespecial releases new album
And tour Dates
by Andrew Gullans
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Modestly-named lespecial (Luke Bemand, Rory Dolan & Jonathan Grusauskas) takes us on a deep-sea adventure involving dark funk, deep rock and rumors of a mythical kraken responsible for numerous missing ships with all hands lost in their first full-length album: “Omnisquid.”
The first instrumental track, Fruit Wolf Dance, is really two different songs — the first, a driving paean of Vaiish rock guitar which evokes the sensation of sailing on good winds across a clear ocean, breaks in the middle by suddenly dropping out to make room for an initially sparse trip-hop trap beat that feels like diving overboard into the very groovy waters just under the sun-kissed waves — which blend back together quite nicely at the end with the shrewdly-timed glue of some delicious, chocolatey bass supported by fine percussive nudges. At the end, this track transitions into the next track, Squid Rising. This, a sunnier Caribbean feel that gradually builds darker undertones like a nasty squall on the horizon to chill the tropical tones with a deep, dark, menacing presence — the eponymous uberkraken, whose tentacles coil amidst the glowing crabs and shipwrecks littering the rocky seafloor, and soundbites refer to the mythical monster and its depredations on local shipping fleets, painting a nice veneer over the surface of an ever funkier, groovier, darker descent into the turgid depths on this math-rock hunt for a sea creature whom might just be Cthulhu.
Urgently the third, title-track Omnisquid, snaps in like a distress call from a vessel stricken by an enormous octopus with a sound hearkening to a late-seventies or early-eighties aqua-sploitation program which (sadly) never was, shortly leading into Optimus Prime Slot, the fourth track, with nice Reznorian sounds accompanying Claypoolian strains which, on one verse in particular, recall a tormented Ozzy crying out to God for help.
We move on through further waters — some rock-ish, others funky, fluctuous & taciturn like the sea with titles, Sugaboi, Leaps Evil, and Ships in the Night. Grainy soundbites and sometimes bizarre lyrics add a menacing flavor. Through myriad waters we move through some nice, “Pretty Lights-ish” stuff through a little drum & bass to a twangy rock-a-billy cum punk-rock jam leading into what sounds like the looming-then-receeding echoing thunder of an industrial hell-scape as heard through the firmament in the company of angels upon the heavenly clouds drifting samite above the surface of the ocean… an ocean whose dark & funky depths are home to an ancient and terrifying monster.
The album’s eighth track, New Fish, this writer’s favorite, perfectly capturing the style & technical abilities of lespecial and the theme of this oceanic concept album, and must be jammed out for at least ten minutes live in order to fully deliver. The last couple of tracks, Pressed for Time and Absolutely Stunning are a nice, sorrowful conclusion in their earnest sorrow, a truly stunning (sorta-) love song followed by a smashing metal outro that gets appropriately weird then serious for a strong finish.
The album is available for download at their website.
Jan 28 Underground Arts Black Box Philadelphia, PA
Jan 29 Blue Fox Winchester, VA
Feb 06 Ziggarut: Rites of Passage Part II Boston, MA
Feb 12 The Pinch Washington, DC
Feb 13 622 North Blacksburg, VA
Feb 25 Pearl Street Northampton, MA
Feb 26 The Spot Underground Providence, RI
Mar 23 The 8X10 Baltimore, MD
Mar 24 Putnam Den Saratoga Springs, NY
Mar 26 Port City Music Hall Portland, ME
Apr 01 Toads Place New Haven, CT
Apr 02 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
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Check out the Live Music News and Review.com Facebook page for updates and announcements.