Echoless
Anechoic release their mini album 'This Is How It Is' and have already supported the likes of Embrace and to be fair they're not a million miles away in style. Opening track 'Flickering' is dominated by high pitched airy fairy vocals but with a great drum sound this is nice enough melodic pop, not as annoying as Embrace or Keane but not far enough removed from them to really stand out.
'Title track 'This Is How It Is' centres around big electronic beats and is a nice departure in sound but the vocal style remains the same and unfortunately does start to get a little irritating. No press release with this and the bands website says they all sing so I'm not sure who the lead vocalist is! Musically they are a very good band, they have a clear ear for melody and manage to create a variety of moods in a short space of time. I can't help thinking though that it would all sound better with a female vocalist that could accentuate the dynamics more. Whoever is taking lead vocals does come across like a one trick pony, he has his style and he's sticking to it and although it's not bad it is rather one-dimensional.
'Coin Drop' slows everything down and sets a mellow mood, it's here that the vocals work best, a little restrained and well within his range. They manage to hold the interest with 'Time And A Half', which veers off in another direction whilst managing to keep the overall feel. Penultimate track 'Say When' brings things back to the mainstream and is rather throwaway; it could be anyone of that ilk from Coldplay to the aforementioned Keane.
'Tired Today' rounds off proceedings with another fairly mainstream offering that lacks the spark of some of the earlier tracks. Overall though there's definite promise from Anechoic, let's hope they can keep that unique spark of individuality in future material and not get pushed too far down the mainstream route.