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wouldn ’ t sound out of place on a Pet Sounds or London Calling complete with a perfect love metaphor similar to a life-threatening disease . Hidden gems are plentiful . “ Silicon Teens ” shows how the personal computer quickly became essential to a teenager ’ s life in the late ‘ 90s . The whole thing reaches a beautiful crescendo with “ Tales From Tomorrow ,” a would-be hit that nails the nervous excitement and optimism of the early dot com boom . Lo-fi moments on this album are present , but they are fleeting , as if the Trumfio boys wanted a big , bold introduction to the world , complete with ornate horn charts ( Alpert himself blows a little trumpet ) and lush string arrangements . While never approaching the Billboard charts success of their label mates Garbage , Pulsars garnered their share of buzz-worthy reviews and local airplay .
Eventually , Dave would concentrate his time and efforts on Kingsize Soundlabs , his Wicker Park home studio , where he would work with luminaries like Wilco and The Mekons before moving the whole operation to the West Coast . The lavish , sophisticated sound of the Pulsars album must have been a tremendous sonic business card for Dave ’ s production prowess . This album captures a moment stuck in amber for the Chicago music scene where opportunities seemed endless , and it still sounds fresh and timeless today .
– Andy Derer
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AVERNUS Grievances
( M-Theory )
Long-running Chicago doom metal purveyors Avernus reunited in 2012 and have just released its long-awaited second fulllength album Grievances after a 27-year gap between albums . The return of Avernus — featuring founder / vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist Rick McCoy , drummer Rick Yifrach , guitarist Erik Kick , and bassist / guitarist James Genenz — is a very welcomed comeback for their selective but dedicated fan base . Grievances contains an amalgam of doom , death , and gothic metal elements with tracks built from a meticulous blueprint of atmosphere and mood , decorated with pounding rhythms , crushing guitar riffs , and ethereal melodies . McCoy ’ s menacing guttural vocals are monolithic and command the listener ’ s attention . Initially influenced by British stalwarts of the doom / gothic genre of bands such as Paradise Lost , My Dying Bride , and Anathema , Avernus morphs various elements of the aforementioned bands into its unique formula . The quartet doesn ’ t necessarily expand upon or reinvent the genre . Still , it operates comfortably within it , which Avernus has always been known for and is exactly what their fans expect . “ Nemesis ” possesses an almost Scandinavian flavor of bands such as Amorphis , Amon Amarth , and mid-period Sentenced , while “ Exitus ” is a slow-burning display of funeral doom at its finest . “ Open Arms ,” “ Plateau ,” and album closer “ Quietus ” contain fantastic Pink Floydesque melodies , adding even more proggy goodness to the band ’ s compositions . Minor gripes would be that some tracks are a bit too long ( exceeding the eight and nine-minute marks ) without many riff transitions or tempo variations . Quite a few instrumentals also continue the band ’ s moody temperament but don ’ t add anything new to the proceedings . Special guests include Corporate Death from our beloved Macabre on the brilliant spoken word segment of “ The Burning Down ” and some superb guitar leads from Jeff Ulbrich of From Beyond These Walls and Rhone on “ Utter Euphoria .”
Recorded and engineered by Joe Scaletta andAndy Lagos , while mixing and mastering were handled by Charles Macak , Grievances possesses the right amount of clarity while never sacrificing its grittiness and doomy atmosphere . Plus , the cover art was created by the 19th-century artist August Friedrich Schenck , entitled Anguish , and is a spectacular piece of art to gaze at while absorbing the album ’ s infinite melodies . Grievances is everything a doom fan would hope it would be . Welcome back , Avernus ! – Kelley Simms
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14 illinoisentertainer . com november 2024