 Nothing
Inside
"Fall" CD
DarkRealm
Multimedia
Genres: synth-pop, goth electronica, experimental
Apr 7 - 13 2003 |
Originally
80 tracks long, Fall was eventually pared down to the 16 on
this disc after a number of "listening parties" in
2002. The resulting album sees Nothing Inside at both
their best and - at times - their worst. Some tracks are really
inspired, while others suffer the terrible fate of mediocrity.
"I Only Love You When It Rains" is one of the good
tracks. A dark 80's-esque synth pop number, it boasts a nice
melody that will get stuck in your head after just one listen.
"Heaven" (and its prelude) is also a fantastic piece, with a
creepy atmosphere and some neat melody. However, other songs
don't quite measure up. "This Quiet Hour," for
example, seems to take itself way too seriously,
sounding silly with its lame, repetitive synth background and the
singer's painfully atonal vocals. "Used To Be Cool"
also falls flat; it has a promising synth background, but screws
things up with bizarre, incoherent vocals that completely ruin the
mood.
Fall has some good aspects. The band is obviously
capable of producing decent enough melodies, and there are many
examples on Fall. The 80's styled parts are especially
good, with lots of pop hooks to be enjoyed. However, many of the
band's other melodies don't work so well, suggesting that perhaps they aren't
the best at separating the winners from the floaters (Bob Pollard,
anyone?). As well, their atmospheres often seem hokey and
cheesy, to a funny extent; I'm assuming this wasn't what the band was
going for. Sometimes the Nothing Inside's attempts to be creepy backfire,
resulting in goofy, atonal dreck and tired goth clichés.
These problems can be fixed, however. The band needs to pare
down their tracks to allow more room for the melodic stuff, especially
the 80s-ish synth material. With a bit more work, Nothing
Inside could have a winning album in their future.
69%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
16 songs, distributed by the
label, released 2002] |
