Search - The Alpha Conspiracy :: Aura

Good but not his best work

Travis M. Owens | Syracuse, NY USA | 07/06/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have been listening to Andrew Saga (aka Alpha Conspiracy) for 10 years and I definetly consider him one of the top people to emerge from the underground "demoscene" to CD produced work. I can say he has something that very few musicians has when it comes to making electro music, he has a style that feels like soaring and often writes interesting chords and melodies. While this CD is very well made, there isn't many tracks I would considered memorable. If you're a Alpha Conspiracy fan than the album and am very picky about your music than the album is barely worth checking out. If you're not as picky and just would like some good IDM style stuff to listen to then this album is a good buy. I will give a song by song review.1. Wishing Never [3:44] - This is by far the best track on the album as it has the most interesting composition and something that my ears really like to follow. It is an instrumental and very upbeat. Perhaps Andrew is aware of the quality of the track and put it first to give a good first impression, unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't really hold a candle up to this and the next track.2. Close [3:36] - This is also a decent track and it also has good singing. Another complex tune my ears like following and I could easily give both this tune, and the previous track 5 stars.3. Crush Terminology [5:03] - This instrumental has a dancy beat and various trippy synths popping in as well as some soaring type synths that I really enjoy. Easily a 4 star song.4. Defend Yourself [4:46] - This song has a harder edge than his other tunes that really gives me a side to side feeling. There is some voxed vocal work in this tune that works well here and stays right on the line of audible enough to understand what is being said and so voxed you can't understand it.5. Accelerating [4:40] - I put this tune as the lowest point of the album. It's well made but mildly interesting IDM type beats and synth with some kind of attempt at industrial-like singing. I guess you can say it's something out of KMFDM although not as good both in effect work on the voice and it's lack of simply being interesting. Hopefully Andy does not attempt to use vocal work like this again as I wasn't impressed.6. Awake [5:31] - Another upbeat song but this time instrumental. Some dreaming chords roll down at you with some quick drum hit percussion work. A decent song but compared to some of Andy's previous work (both on this album and his history) this song is good but nothing amazing.7. 72 Hours [4:16] - An upbeat song that doesn't go anywhere nor change throughout the tune. Well made but yet, very boring.8. Waterfall [4:36] - A song with drum tracks a bit on the experimental side which is refreshing as the album has a bit of a cookie cutter feel to it. I can definitely see Andy is using the same formula to concoct all his tracks. While it's a very good formula it also means that many of the songs sound too similar, style wise, at times. Otherwise nothing memorable about this track either.9. City of Rain [4:53] - Another track with synths that kind of rain down on you in a relaxing kind of way. Some minor changes throughout the song but nothing special here either.10. Bip Neuro [3:26] - Well at least this is a song offering something different to this album. A very low bassy synth comes in and gives you an urge to move. A decent track but for Andy, I would consider this track a minimal for his work but compared to a couple of the other songs, it's unfortunately one of the better ones for the album.11. RTYU [3:04] - Another cookie cutter tune here but it does have some cut up vocal work with echoes adding a dreamier effect than some of the other tunes have. IT's a decent track overall as I feel this is the better part of his dreamy work, but still nothing so special in it that you'll be itching to hear it later.12. Scarlet [2:24] - A very mild and slower tune which lacks any percussion work. Near the start there are some Japanese (?) vocal work. Nothing you'll itch to hear later but not a bad track either."

We'll be waiting with bated breath...

Angry Mofo | 03/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Wishing Never" reminds me of Necros' old days, although I'm not sure why, because I can't think of any specific songs that I could compare it to. Maybe it's the atmosphere; the song starts in a subdued tone, uncertain and plaintive, and then charges into the most anthemic keyboard riff anyone's written in the last ten years. It has all the energy of a rock song, it's as danceable as any techno track, and it has a powerful, yearning feel. The Alpha Conspiracy's second album couldn't possibly be off to a better start.



"Close," the first vocal track, opens with another terrific keyboard riff, with a sweeping, panoramic air. I'd release it as the album's first single, if I were in charge of such matters. Comparisons to "Winter," from the band's first album Cipher, practically write themselves here; the vocals are similarly distorted, but, although I personally like "Winter" more, Necros' singing style - his flow, if you will - is more original on "Close," and I wouldn't mind hearing him sing through a whole album that way. I thought, strangely enough, that he sounds kind of like Tim Skold from KMFDM in the chorus, but in the verses, his voice is more powerful (or just better produced) than Skold's.



"Accelerating" is the only other vocal track, but the vocals there are by one J. Ned Kirby, of a band called Stromkern, which I am unfamiliar with. It's even more reminiscent of KMFDM, because Kirby seems to be trying to sound like En Esch, and uses a similar style of hoarse shout-singing. This approach has two drawbacks. First, En Esch actually doesn't try that hard; his laid-back drawl enables him to sound menacing without yelling. Second, The Alpha Conspiracy is a far less musically aggressive band than KMFDM, and the instrumental backing of "Accelerating" consists of melodic keyboard lines, cushioned in distortion, that don't really fit Kirby's voice. So, the song sounds really weird, and sticks out on the album, but hey, it's all in good fun.



The production on Aura is very impressive. Instead of turning up the speed of the drums to its maximum level, Necros uses recognizable electronica and rock rhythms, but adds in lots of flourishes in between the main kick-snare patterns. He does a similar thing with the melodies; "72 Hours" plays the same basic guitar riff for its entire duration, but, when necessary, a counter-melody comes in in between repetitions of the riff, and new layers are added onto the riff itself. The percussion has a tough, gritty sort of sound (the snares are loud, the high-hats hiss sharply), but with deliberately mechanical fuzz and drone. Nonetheless, the melodies are as clean and beautiful as ever, though they're imbued with more energy. Unfortunately, if you play the album on a stereo with powerful subwoofers, the best melodic parts can get stifled by the already prominent rhythm section.



The problem with the album is that, like on Cipher, the songs still don't comprise a coherent theme; "Wishing Never" creates dramatic tension and establishes feelings of motion and anxiety, and "Close" amplifies them further, but then they just stop short, because the next track is an unhurried, mid-tempo groove without the same kind of intense emotion. Likewise, the bluster of "Accelerating" is followed by "Awake," a formless sort of track that sounds pleasant enough but interrupts the dramatic progression. "City of Ruin" and "Defend Yourself" pretty much stay in place, too.



Despite all that, though, even the weaker tracks have something going for them. Tell me, who among Necros' contemporaries, what new bands of this decade, can use glitches to turn a simple synthesizer drone into a catchy melody, using abrupt stops for rhythm, like in "Crush Terminology"? Or heavily distort vocal samples until the words are unintelligible, then use them to evoke a tender, wistful atmosphere, like in "Waterfall"? Or produce a generic jangly guitar as an electronic instrument, giving it an alien, ringing sound, like in "Accelerating"? What about that swelling orchestral murmur in the background of "City of Ruin," which begs to take the lead, but never does? And those are the lesser songs. "Bip Neuro" is a superb bit of machine-funk, in which catchy, even playful-sounding rhythms are matched with bass that has a cold, artificial snarl. "Scarlet" is a short vignette, in which the album quiets down to a low, worried drone, while a woman's voice whispers something in Japanese; it sounds very enigmatic and alluring.



So, this isn't a perfect album, but it is an edgy and inventive one, and it's quite a step up from Cipher. If this trend continues, the next album will be the masterpiece that I've always dreamed Necros would make. The Alpha Conspiracy is poised to become the first great electronic band of this decade. When that happens, remember, you read it here first."