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May 17, 2012 |
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CONTRIVE - The Meaning Unseen
Independently Released (2005) |
3.5/10 |
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01. By Way Of Choice
02. Prepare To Fall
03. A Vigil For The Lost
04. At Ease
05. Shifting Focus
06. The Meaning Unseen
07. Beside Yourself
08. Divided
09. Todoroki
10. Communion
11. Relate
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"The Meaning Unseen" - Now there's an incredibly appropriate title, because the meaning behind this disc is far beyond my field of vision. Certain elements of this disc imply that Australia's CONTRIVE had something in mind when they formed the band, if not when they sat down to record this disc, but I can assure you they missed the mark considerably. The biggest "boast" about "The Meaning Unseen" is the fact that producer extraordinaire Fredrik Nordström was at the helm of this wreck, but all the fancy production in the world can't salvage an album without direction, and such is the unfortunate case with this particular beer coaster.
What's worse is that CONTRIVE taunt you with the occasional riff, vocal or acoustic passage that actually sinks its teeth into you, but it's as if they're flimsy false teeth with too little denture cream to make the bite stick; catching the high points of this album is like swatting at flies-they're there, you see them, but they're here and gone too quickly to grasp. Case in point would be the album opener "By Way Of Choice" - strong song, chunky riffs, decent pace; just enough to build your hopes up for the pending failure that follows. When "Prepare To Fall" hits you feel adrift and lost at sea in the torturous throes of waning waves of Hardcore non-distinction, and already you get that "bad ju-ju" vibe you have when you know something really bad is about to happen.
And what do you know - here comes "A Vigil For The Lost", and the search for musical identity continues. Maybe they want to be a depressed mainstream sedate Emo clone? I really don't know, but three tracks in and the annoyance is becoming quite tangible. Don't start a disc with a decent tune like "By Way Of Choice" and follow with these two cumbersome, over-done donations to the I-could-care-less pile of style-standard clones. And don't think that throwing in a little 1:32 melancholic acoustic instrumental like "At Ease" in there next thinking you're going to help things; you've yet to establish a sense of direction, and this brief, fluttery little piece helps not at all.
On second thought, why try to salvage the album now? Why not throw in a little SOULFLY-lite song like "Shifting Focus" to compound the issue? I mean, at least there isn't the SMASHING PUMPKINS brand of ultra-basic, painfully slow and instantly annoying guitar jerk-offery mixed with gruff vocals. After all, that might lead to consistency, because that's how the next song, "The Meaning Unseen" comes across; the title track is actually so bad I find myself wanting to bathe in Clorox and lye just to wash away the stain.
Alright, the sarcasm should be plenty thick in here - I'm thinking you get the point; bottom line: if CONTRIVE were to focus more on enhancing their skills as opposed to mimicking several of the easiest music genres, there just might be a flicker of potential for the future. And in the end, the album isn't an absolute waste-along with "By Way Of Choice", "Divided" delivers some pretty solid guitar riffing, and drummer Andrew Haug dishes out a very intriguingly unique drum solo in the form of a little known Japanese drumming art known as Taiko drumming, which Andrew claims has been a part of Japanese culture for hundreds of years. The instrumental, "Todoroki" (which translates to "Rolling Thunder") captures the essence of Japanese culture while delivering one of the only stand-out, let alone original, songs on the entire disc. Certainly if nothing else, I would thank CONTRIVE - or at least Andrew - for introducing listeners to such a unique and culture-rich musical technique.
Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, "The Meaning Unseen" remains unseen, and frankly I have no intention of trying any harder to decipher what exactly that meaning is; call me cynical, but I remain convinced that the band could have Contrived a better approach to make their music more appealing.
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