The North AtlanticWhen band members go their separate ways to achieve higher education, usually the band gets put on the back burner, but I guess when 2/3's of the band are brother's it's easier to get the act back together. Luckily this San Diego outfit fell in the latter, otherwise I would've never been afforded the opportunity to hear these guys, even though this album had previously been released by the band in 2003 prior to going off to attain college degrees.
I'm not even going to lie, when I first received this album I passed it off as being another bad attempt at some fairy artsy shit, but to my surprise the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. Throughout the 11 tracks and 48 minutes of music, these guys cover a wide spectrum of influences; everything from New York post-punk, Chicago noise rock, and San Diego punk makes an appearance. Listening to this album is like trying to travel across the North Atlantic, there's lots of ups and downs. I love how the album starts off in whirlwind of frantic riffing, and then slows down at the midway point only to leave how they came in. Another thing that separates this band from so many others trying their hand at the same thing is their approach to song structure, no song is the same; there's a few 2 minute songs, some 4 minute songs, and two 7 minute tracks and none of them stick to the same formula yet the album sounds extremely cohesive.
Hendrix paints a brilliant picture of a chaotic, futuristic landscape throughout the album, as absurd as some of the lyrics appear they all tie into each other. There is lots of good word play and metaphors and some real witty lines to keep your attention.
This album has such an organic sound to it. Each of the three musicians were allowed plenty of room to work within each given song. And considering each song usually has something different going on from the previous, may it be a different tuning, tempo, layering, effects, whatever it may be, it sounds magnificent. The two things that caught my attention the most was the absolutely lush bass tone that roams about in the background and the superb reverb used throughout parts of the album. I can't forget to mention how great the vocals sound, perfect placement and just enough effects on his voice (such as the reverb used in "Bottom of this Town"). The drums sounded warm and fluid, it's almost as if you were in the studio listening to him. This albums sound quality could rival any big studio album.
Jason Hendrix is certainly a multi-talented individual. Not only is he the brainchild behind The North Atlantic musically and lyrically but he also designed the layout of the album. And it's not some stupid half assed shit either, it looks clean, yet at the same time chaotic, a lot like the actual music. I like the setup of the booklet, when you first open it, it reveals a map of wires with some odd images like the stone hedges with skulls on them, a unicorn, and a nuclear power plant, and a city skyline. It's cool how all of the images appear to real, yet look drawn at the same time. Good stuff. The gold ink used for the lyrics looks real good too. Who would've thought a predominantly pink layout could look so good?
Rating: 4/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Atmosphere Vs. The Dogs of Dawn (I love that bellowing A tuning), Scientist Girl, The Ministry of Helicopters
Thesis: If you like Small Brown Bike, Fugazi, and Sonic Youth you'll eat this shit up. Strong song writing, great lyrics, a diverse vocalist, and nice packaging makes this one worth picking up.