Creature With The Atom Brain - Transylvania
Rating
RIYL
13th Floor ElevatorsRoky Erickson
Hawkwind
70’s Prog
Release Date
02/02/2010
Label
The End RecordsTracklist
1. I Rise the Moon2. The Color of Sundown
3. Something is Wrong
4. Transylvania
5. Lonely Light
6. Spinnin' the Dark Hole
7. Darker than a Dungeon
8. Sound of Confusion
9. Make Noise
10. The Lonesome Whistle
11. Is That Lady Sniff? (Radio Edit)
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OK, so you see an album named Transylvania by a group called “Creature With the Atom Brain.” What do you think you’ll get? Thankfully, the band didn’t try to throw us off. They delivered an album that is heavy on the bass, somewhat muffled-sounding, and features lots of dark imagery. Look at the track names—"Moon," "Sundown," "Wrong," "Transylvania," "Lonely," "Dark Hole," and so on. For Pete’s sake, the band is even signed to The End record label. But what is so pleasing about this album is its immediate accessibility and pop sensibility.
Guitarist/vocalist Aldo Struyf (Millionaire, Mark Lanegan Band) and his mates have just come off a tour of Europe with The Dead Weather and have put together an impressively coherent vision considering this is a band which has usually been described as a side project from the band members' other gigs.
The first thing you notice about the songs will probably be the sound. It is definitely low-fi, garage-band sounding, but in the best way possible. Clarity would make it sound sunnier, which wouldn’t suit the album. The vocals, for the most part, sound drugged and lazy. But even so, this band is tight. They display effortlessly tight harmonies on songs such as “The Color of Sundown” and “Spinnin’ the Dark Hole.” And the rhythm section of bassist Jan Wygers (Mauro Pawlowski and the Grooms, The Sexmachines) and drummer/percussionist Dave Schroyen (Millionaire) for this Antwerp, Belgium-based band propel the songs forward mightily.
The songs tend to be riff-based with patterns looped in all the instruments. Nearly all of the songs are sharply written pop songs that don’t allow for much deviation from the riffs except for Michiel Van Cleuvenbergen’s unusual meanderings. Otherwise, there’s nothing too innovative going on here. There are Black Sabbath-like songs (“I Rise the Moon,” “Something is Wrong,” ”Make Noise”), songs that repeatedly lull you into joyous submission (“Transylvania,” “The Lonesome Whistle”), and even some Urge Overkill sound alikes (“Sound of Confusion” and “The Color of Sundown”). But sticking these various influences together, Creature With the Atom Brain creates a wonderful album that is maybe the danciest stoner album I’ve ever heard.
The last song is odd to me, though, because it is in complete opposition to everything else on the album. It is called “Is That Lady Sniff? (Radio Edit).” This is a pleasant song with a late 60’s-style backbeat, acoustic guitars, and mentions the sun. Some might say this was added to end the album with a sign of hope after such a dark collection of songs. I will say this song seems like it was tacked on needlessly. Even though it is a good song, it would have been better to have left it off. All in all, however, this is an album that I will be playing again and again... well, at least until I get tired of the riffs.
--David Toothman
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