By Dave Guzda
With the time it takes you to finish a coffee you could check out Depth & Current's new album Transient in its entirety! The Press Release says they are trying to appeal to a "modern attention span". Transient's eight song 'album' clocks in at under 14m. What? The band's singer Chris Harris explains : "Previously, we would have just labored over those parts for months, trying to turn them into something that we all love. This time, however, we engaged in a merciless editing process by which we freed ourselves from the responsibility of struggling to spice up what we believed to be parts that didn't live up to the promise of the songs. What we were left with after this editing process was a collection of very short songs, that contained only the parts that we really, really loved." From Auxilarate. Transient is certainly very lean but once you get past the brevity of the content, you'll find some riveting and gritty, darkwave/post-rock material.
Transient kicks off with the snappy Industrial-ish drumming of the track 'Running'. The snare simply explodes then yields to guitar onslaught as much of the album does. The song hits you with Chris Harris' somber shoegazey reverb drenched vocals as restrained noisy guitar hints at exploding from within the mix. Where 'Running' started with drums, 'Unknown' starts with a screeching guitar blast that would be at home in A Place To Bury Strangers' backyard. The rocking guitar wail continues on and off throughout the entire song as it builds and fades. The noise is delicious and Tommy McKenzie's solid bassline is the backbone that propels this monstrous track forward.
'Coast to Coast' has a bewitching dark synth vibe with a catchy triple cymbal pattern. Depth & Current then move into the bipolar modulated noise rocker 'Turn Me On'. The track bounces between amble rock song and shrill guitar thrashings. Next the curious 'You're Alive' floats along with stabs of jagged guitar, deep bass and a synth melody that dances along happily; seemingly unaware of its surroundings. 'Exes and Ohs' is another crushing, intensely heavy noise charged track from Depth & Current. When the guitar riff hits it consumes the song. 'Breaking your heart', starts soft but once it gets going, it breaks eardrums, hearts and whatever is in its way. The cacophony is mostly set aside for Transient's final song 'Beat the stars'.
Hey there elephant. Ultimately, I did feel like something was missing with all these sub 2 minute tracks. I would start getting into the groove of a song... then suddenly the song would end. One of the attractions of shoegaze is getting lost in the melody, the musical experimentation and the extended vibe. While I applaud the cut-to-the-chase innovation, each track left me wanting more. I guess it should be expected on an album that is entitled transient.
That said, Transient takes you through some intense and deeply enthralling material. All three band members are credited with guitar on Transient. Clearly guitar matters to the band, and it is apparent throughout the album. Depth & Current's fuzzy guitar sound has been rigorously crafted to send venomous shock waves of snarling sound at the listener. Those who enjoy sonic guitar hooks and hypnotizing darkwave melody will connect with this release. The only problem may be wondering why there isn't more of it.
