By Dave Guzda
Barcelona, Spain is the home to the band Audiolepsia. A few month ago they released their debut album entitled Principio de Incertidumbre (Uncertainty Principle). The foursome play an engaging blend of instrumental music embedded squarely within the post-rock genre. Since there are no words, the emphasis is on the music to tell a story... and each of the seven tracks on Principio de Incertidumbre speak with a unique musical flavour and interesting character. The album is crammed full of melodic guitar riffs that range in pace from slow and ponderous to metallic and chugging.
The album kicks off with a song named after the often maligned drug: 'Vicodina' (Vicodin). The guitar tones crafted by Ángel and Juan A. are crisp and pulsating, occasionally rising up for some cutting riffs that sound heavily influenced by metal. The focus throughout the album is the winding melodic instrumental journey. The pace of the tracks weave up and down reaching pleasant, beautiful lows only to rise into faster edgier sections. The drumming by Kilian is solid on all accounts and gives the songs an open canvas for the guitarists to tell their musical story.
The next track 'Estigma' (Stigmata) starts off a little drab but the slow meandering intro builds into a lively section with some staggering riffs and smashing cymbals. 'Estigma' drops into a soothing soft section halfway through with gentle guitar strumming punctuated by slow snare accents. The build out of this lighter section is clever and shows some admirable musical flair from the band.
Principio de Incertidumbre continues with more memorable and deeply melodic tracks like 'Cenizas' (Ash) and 'Lunes' (Monday). 'Cenizas' is catchy and evocative, sounding like movement both fast and slow. By comparison, the next track 'Lunes' feels introspective, dream-like and hazy. 'Lunes' has a shoegaze vibe that made me think of some of Lush's warm musical tones. The song holds onto long notes allowing them to float from the mix with the occasional delicate bend of the whammy bar. The song evokes thoughts of standing atop a hill on a warm Summer's evening quietly overlooking the goings-on below. The track has some really buoyant and uplifting sounds.
The album concludes with the killer track 'Anémona' (Anemone). This track locks into a seriously heavy groove propelled by Jordi's bass work. The song intersperses heavy riffs with some gentle piano-like accents creating a delicious tapestry of sound. The track seems to end half way though then suddenly changes pace completely from the infectious driving groove to a slow rambling jangle. Once again Audiolepsia skillfully play with the pace of their music. Their songs are melodically rocking one moment then flawlessly segue into a quieter but equally captivating section the next.
Audiolepsia have formulated quite an impressive debut. The melodies don't always appear to be complex but digesting the entirety of Principio de Incertidumbre is ultimately a very satisfying aural feast. It is easy to get lost within the vivid instrumental textures on Principio de Incertidumbre. The seven tracks have intriguing melodies and highly palpable atmospheres that are highly evocative regardless of the song's pace. Fans of instrumental rock or postrock will find Principio de Incertidumbre is remarkably name your price on bandcamp. *Click...*
