Review Summary: A definite spark, if not the inferno they were shooting for
As music fans, in general, we're not really into innovation. Sure, we say we are, but we really aren't. Innovation, to us music fans, is more often than not just familiarity with a new finish. Band (x) records new album, uses a couple of different chord progressions, adds some atmospheric keyboard bits and ups the length of the songs, and we're sold. The band has matured, grown, blossomed into something new, fresh and innovative. The critics love it. We love it. In the race for musical evolution, we like our bands to take baby steps, so there's still more than enough of the old familiar sound to keep us from feeling lost and confused. It's this general resistance to drastic change that makes me glad that bands like I Set My Friends On Fire exist,
ISMFOF have pretty much entirely skipped the 'generic' train right from the get go. This album sounds like the mewling spawn of At The Drive-In getting skull***ed by The Dillinger Escape Plan while the Backstreet Boys smash a keyboard in the background. There is no restraint here, no confinement in a specific genre. This is music that can, and inevitably does, spin off in any direction at any given time. Nabil's guitarwork is predominantly rooted in post-hardcore, with the shadow of a young Omar Rodriguez-Lopez cast over every quickfire melody that straddles the line between supremely catchy, atmospheric, or just ear-catchingly unusual. Outside of the sugary leads there are plenty of breakdowns, which miraculously manage to never wear out their welcome by dragging on for more than a few short seconds at a time, the more brutal and dissonant heavy sections usually acting as more of a sharp halt in the tempo of a song before transitioning to the next section.
The crazy trade-off screaming sections of the album occasionally remind of Sikth's Mikee and Justin snarling at each other, albeit without quite matching their moments of genius. There are also some genuinely beautiful snatches of clean singing scattered throughout, though many are inexplicably autotuned to the point of just sounding odd. What's nice about the combination of these styles is that there is no scream-verse/sing-chorus dynamic. There are harsh sections, and clean sections, but frequently they'll throw in a line in the opposing style seemingly at random. Ravenous Ravenous Rhinos shows this at it's best; the single clean line roughly a minute in admist the chaotic screaming somehow managing to be a highlight of the song, despite barely lasting a second. The band are also fond of gang vocals, with group-shouted sections adding to the already considerable energy of many songs.
The synth that pervades throughout the album is undeniably the catalyst for the variety of genres the album is able to touch upon. Dance-esque synth backing melodies, atmospheric piano sections, and epic, swelling strings all appear and vanish at the drop of a hat. We're not talking Nightwish levels of meticulously planned synthetic orchestration here, but what the boys put together is servicable and often enjoyable. Thankfully, any given section that falls below enjoyable tends to have ended before it can really drag down the quality of song.
And therein lies the beauty of the album, and indeed ISMFOF as a band. This is music for those with a severe case of musical ADD. If you find yourself becoming bored of music that's rooted in a genre, or are fond of more genres than you can count and have always wondered what they'd sound like thrown together into a melting pot, this album might well be worth a listen.
Despite heaping all manner of praise on YCSSWL, it'd be remiss of me to try and sweep the less glistening aspects of the album under the rug. The spazzy, random direction of songs will undoubtedly sound meaningless and frustrating to many, and you can't really blame them. ISMFOF are going for complete anarchy here, and they more often than not hit the nail squarely on the head. There are many (short) passages on the album that are either annoying, poorly executed, or manage to subtract from one's enjoyment of any given song in some other way. The lower growls are fairly weak, sounding more like angry dogs barking than truly brutal, gutteral lows. And, annoyingly, I find myself wishing the songs had more structure.
As much as I love the spazzy, mind*** nature of the song structures here, I can't help but wish for a little more coherance. The last thing I want is to see this band starting churning out verse/chorus/verse/chorus songs, but a little bit more thought into the overall nature of songs, and the feeling that each song is progressing to some sort of well thought out climax would really aid this band in releasing something truly brilliant somewhere down the line. What can I say, at the moment ISMFOF are just a little too innovative for me.
Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable slice of non-to-serious experimental music, and though it doesn't stack next to truly brilliant musical insanity such as Crotchduster's 'Big Fat Box Of ***', it's definitly a solid first step.
