19 A.D.D. “Dead River” cover
19add review (odt format)
19 A.D.D. “Dead River” (2010, 36 Records)
Is your favorite music the likes of, for instance, Lady Gaga, The White Stripes, MGMT, or Arcade Fire? Then stop reading now since you are definitely in the wrong place. However, if bands like King Crimson, Tool and Mahavishnu Orchestra get you excited, then you are in for a huge treat.
19 A.D.D. is a trio from Colorado mainly playing electric guitar, bass and drums. With that seemingly conventional instrumentation they have hammered out a monstrous, fire breathing set, one of the very best I’ve heard from a long time.
To try to get a point of reference, I suppose you could characterize it as “instrumental progressive/experimental jazz/metal.” Besides the bands named above, in my opinion it contains elements of Dysrhythmia, Liquid Tension Experiment, Black Light Syndrome and Attention Deficit, but is not by any means imitative or derivative of them. The songs are primarily complex, joyously loud and brutal, and leavened with odd little sound sculptures and breaks just to add interest and variety to the mix.
The 45 minute release consists of 15 tracks. 6 of them are short sound collage or experimental pieces (one sounds like a 50s Ken Nordine riff) , mixed in with 9 somewhat more conventional pieces. Conventional is probably not the operative word, as the band manages to throw in countless tempo, key and time signature changes into their tunes, still managing to keep the flow and power moving.
Musically I give them a 9 out of 10—I feel like they’re still going to get better.
If I had to carp about anything, I guess it would be the hypercompressed mastering. For their style of high power music, I know it’s common and does make sense, but I can’t help but wonder what their material would have sounded like with the limiters backed off a tad. The CD release not surprisingly sounds better than the MP3 versions, but both have plenty of beef. Obviously…you must have this. On top of that, the CD artwork is beautiful. Don’t just rip or get the MP3 of this, actually go out and buy the CD.
(As of late 2011 their second record GAIA has been completed. More about the band etc is at www.19add.com)
Track list
1 0:57 Siddhapur
2 3:46 Diadem
3 3:45 Spoim
4 0:40 Patan
5 3:48 First World Paine
6 4:33 Sailing Blinde
7 8:37 Slomosexual
8 0:56 Umari
9 3:45 Tendre Crotch Play
10 1:08 Danta
11 3:24 Carnivalium
12 0:53 Jamhuri
13 1:21 Khapan
15 2:52 Bikarni
You should get this and Gaia! Highly recommended.
Updated 4 Jan 2014
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