 The
Letterpress
"Input/Output" CD
Sunset
Alliance
Genres: indie rock, math rock, emo
Sunset Alliance
PO Box 32048
Mesa AZ 85275
Jul 19 - 25 2004 |
Like early Three Mile Pilot, The Letterpress have that
wacky distinction of using no guitar in their compositions. This
friendly trio instead employs vocals, percussion, and two bass guitars
- the results, incidentally, sound like a sort of Braid and Pinback
hybrid, filled with gnarled, twisting basslines and lush, emotional
vocals. The minimal complexity of Dustin Carson's
percussion gives the disc a certain math-rock quality.
Like any given Braid album, Input/Output takes a few
listens to become accustomed to; after that initial period, however,
it's longetivity is outstanding. These songs have very subtle
melodies, buried behind dynamics and complicated time
signatures. Even the most obvious song, "The Falling
Away," takes some getting used to - once you've got the groove,
you'll discover a charmingly pristine song bordering on emo territory,
somewhat similar to The Promise Ring's calmer
compositions. The title-track and "Ember" also boast
remarkable melodies.
As far as debuts go, this is a formidable effort from The
Letterpress. Although their melodic subtlety and rhythmic
complexity may limit their potential audience, this disc should have
no problem garnering interest from the math-rock and "complex
indie rock" communities.
85%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 7 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
