Band : Animal Faces
Album : Analytical Dreaming
Release Year : 2011
Release Year : 2011
Genre : Screamo | Post-Hardcore
Tracklist :
1. Forward Through
2. Aesthetics
3. Living Spaces
4. A Deep Thought
5. Follow Faster
On their five-song debut, Animal Faces meddle with a familiar sound they ultimately make their own. The trio is able to meld discordance, sludge, and beauty into a ferocious yet delicate mixture of jangly post-hardcore and earnest screamo. Hailing from the Greater Toronto Area, the young members that comprise the outfit have unquestionable style: Jagged and angular guitar riffs bounce freely off of calculated-but-lively drumming, all held together by a solid and adventurous bass.
Album opener “Forward Through” begins with a standalone guitar line, slightly off-kilter but absolutely riveting. Once all three bandmembers kick in, it’s a full-force math-rock race to the finish, replete with off-time breaks and stylish hooks. “Aesthetics” picks up the pace from its previous track, vocalist Ryan Naray bellowing the war cry: “To think that we’re built this way, how can we change state?” This line becomes the driving force behind Analytical Dreaming, a flag-bearing reassessment of the fine line between screamo, indie, emo, and hardcore. Where bands like Touché Amoré and La Dispute are currently taking off due to their straddling on this crossroads, the boys in Animal Faces are finally bringing something new to the table. “Living Spaces” is a prime explicator of this dissection, revealing a dark undercurrent that fastidiously explores the technicality of Native and Age Sixteen while it blows a whole into its framework, spiraling downward into a detuned sludge trade-off between guitar and bass à la Neurosis.
I also implore you to take a closer look at Narry’s lyrics just before this tidal wave hits: “A process, a repeat of how you wasted time / you always wanted more simple times, you know why you’re here / you always asked for more open space, when your mind is clear.” And then it hits. It all synthesizes, analytically searching through an open space. “A Deep Thought” and “Follow Faster” up the ante to levels you wouldn’t think possible. The group is so fucking tight you’d think they were an institution. Maybe they will be. The truth of the matter is that in this day and age, it isn’t hard to find a group of talented young musicians performing in a band. I’m pretty sure (though I may be wrong) that no one on Sumerian Records‘ roster is over thirty years of age. The problem with most of their bands, however, is that they place technical artifice ahead of emotion. Listening to Animal Faces, one gets the feeling of experiencing the best of both worlds. Riveting chops butt heads with emotional prowess and the listener is left gasping. This is one of my favourite releases already and it’s totally worth your time.
2. Aesthetics
3. Living Spaces
4. A Deep Thought
5. Follow Faster
On their five-song debut, Animal Faces meddle with a familiar sound they ultimately make their own. The trio is able to meld discordance, sludge, and beauty into a ferocious yet delicate mixture of jangly post-hardcore and earnest screamo. Hailing from the Greater Toronto Area, the young members that comprise the outfit have unquestionable style: Jagged and angular guitar riffs bounce freely off of calculated-but-lively drumming, all held together by a solid and adventurous bass.
Album opener “Forward Through” begins with a standalone guitar line, slightly off-kilter but absolutely riveting. Once all three bandmembers kick in, it’s a full-force math-rock race to the finish, replete with off-time breaks and stylish hooks. “Aesthetics” picks up the pace from its previous track, vocalist Ryan Naray bellowing the war cry: “To think that we’re built this way, how can we change state?” This line becomes the driving force behind Analytical Dreaming, a flag-bearing reassessment of the fine line between screamo, indie, emo, and hardcore. Where bands like Touché Amoré and La Dispute are currently taking off due to their straddling on this crossroads, the boys in Animal Faces are finally bringing something new to the table. “Living Spaces” is a prime explicator of this dissection, revealing a dark undercurrent that fastidiously explores the technicality of Native and Age Sixteen while it blows a whole into its framework, spiraling downward into a detuned sludge trade-off between guitar and bass à la Neurosis.
I also implore you to take a closer look at Narry’s lyrics just before this tidal wave hits: “A process, a repeat of how you wasted time / you always wanted more simple times, you know why you’re here / you always asked for more open space, when your mind is clear.” And then it hits. It all synthesizes, analytically searching through an open space. “A Deep Thought” and “Follow Faster” up the ante to levels you wouldn’t think possible. The group is so fucking tight you’d think they were an institution. Maybe they will be. The truth of the matter is that in this day and age, it isn’t hard to find a group of talented young musicians performing in a band. I’m pretty sure (though I may be wrong) that no one on Sumerian Records‘ roster is over thirty years of age. The problem with most of their bands, however, is that they place technical artifice ahead of emotion. Listening to Animal Faces, one gets the feeling of experiencing the best of both worlds. Riveting chops butt heads with emotional prowess and the listener is left gasping. This is one of my favourite releases already and it’s totally worth your time.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
ReplyDeleteAnimal Faces has recently released a video for Forward Through, check it out:
http://youtu.be/13V_HzaDu-I