Aloa Input
Anysome
2013-11-13
It's always satisfying and thought-provoking when album art is evocative of the music it represents. The cover of Bavaria based group Aloa Input's debut record Anysome portrays a verdant jungle scene, but the presence of an eyeball lurking through the shrubbery, assorted cacti blooming within the trees, and a bird that resembles a red-breasted robin all provide a subtly surrealistic quality; not the unsettling, mind-bending surrealism like a Dali scene adorned with melting clocks and mutant creatures, but rather one fraught with pointed whimsy like Magritte's "The Treachery of Images." This is an oddly accurate visual to accompany Anysome's varied influences.
Instrumentation is typical for an indie rock trio: analog and digital percussion is laced into the slithery, skating guitar framework and flourishing vocal harmonies are delicately threaded in. But within this soundscape other worldly timbres emerge (most memorably with the marimba droplets on gorgeous track "This Must Be The Age") and distinguish Aloa Input from the overwhelming wave of similar bands in the genre. As their label puts it, Anysome is comprised of "guitars from Cape Town to Portland, beats from Berlin to Chicago, and vocals from NYC to Düsseldorf." Aloa Input's first attempt is a fruitful one, and is all around a legitimately enjoyable listen.
Recommended Tracks: #5 "This Must Be The Age", #9 "Radio", #12 "Someday Morning"
Sigmund Steiger
Quick Links:
More reviews tagged #Rock
-
reviewed 12/2005
SILVER JEWS
Tanglewood Numbers
-
reviewed 04/2008
Old 97's
Blame It On Gravity
-
reviewed 04/2011
TUNE-YARDS
WhoKill
-
reviewed 11/2015
Billy Gibbons and The BFG's
Perfectamundo
-
reviewed 02/2016
Waco Brothers
Going Down In History
-
reviewed 09/2008
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
ALL REBEL ROCKERS
Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.