Tracklist:

1. Side of a Box
2. Lush & Co.
3. Descolada
4. Orson Welles Was Right
5. The Church with No Name
6. The Launch
7. Magnetic Communications
8. Demonium
9. What I Gots (All Around)
10. Last Mile
11. I Dunno
12. Finlandia
13. Dune
14. Dune (Revisited)
15. So What

Volumen, a five-piece band from the Pacific Northwest town of Missoula, Minnesota, have released their fifth release, Science Faction. A disorienting and perplexing combination of heavy new wave and unedited jam band sensibility, Science Faction tries hard to be futuristic, but instead sounds dated and silly.

Science Faction is the aural equivalent of an unpleasant blind taste test, with each track unnervingly different. Volumen struggle to find what works for them, and unfortunately, they can’t quite pull any of it off. It’s a shame, because their aping runs the gamut from synth-heavy garage punk (opener “Side of a Box”) to British versions of The Fever (is that a fake accent on “Lush & Co.”?) to prog instrumentals (“Descolada”). Volumen’s lack of focus and precision is nothing less than exhausting.

Science Faction was recorded over a four year period, yet much of it sounds
unfinished and amateurish, particularly the contributions of vocalist “Volumen-1.” Although Volumen-1/Shane Hickey cites indie rockers Brit Daniel and Doug Martsch as vocal influences, he alternately sounds like alterna-reggae band Pepper vocalist Kaleo Wassman (“Orson Welles Was Right”), San Diego pop-punk Unwritten Law frontman Scott Russo (the No Knife-ish math rock guitar intro of “What I Gots” is ruined by overdubbed vocals and synth), and the over-imitated vocal mannerisms of current indie faves Spencer Krug and Win Butler (“I Dunno”). None work, and the listener is left with the impression that not only does singer Volumen-1 not have an original voice, he’s also not very good at copying anyone else.

Even when Volumen-1 steps away from the mic, Science Faction is bogged down with instrumentals. “Demonium” finds Volumen trying their best at atmospheric, Joy Division-era post-punk, but is musically uninteresting and poorly recorded (on the plus side, it runs a merciful length of just over a minute). Instrumental “Finlandia” relies on dueling guitar harmonies ala Ratatat, but lacks innovation or genuinely catchy polyphony to sustain interest.

Immediately following are two more bloated instrumentals, “Dune” and “Dune (Revisited).” “Dune” attempts an epic grandiosity through rolling bass drums and proggy guitar riffs, but loses the listener long before its seven minutes have run. This is a track in which absolutely nothing happens, and, as if to compensate, Volumen hastily throw together the supplementary “Dune (revisited),” two disposable minutes of scraps of sounds and musical fat.

Volumen fluff up their songs with studio chatter and zippy gimmicks, but a boring classic-rock sensibility lies at the heart of Science Faction. The chopped-up spoken word intro of “The Launch” attempts the scathing critique of Radiohead’s “Fitter Happier,” but with embarrassing results (especially with the repetition of phrases like “this food you are eating is delicious”). “The Church With No Name” (a spin on U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name”?) tries a similar, contrived weirdness with sound effects, delicate bells, and classic rock guitar solos. It’s hard to believe they cite giants Brian Eno, David Bowie, and XTC as primary influences, especially when the intro directly copies the chord changes of The Eagles’ “Hotel California.”

Apparently these guys are hometown heroes in Missoula, but it’s difficult to imagine them appealing to a wider audience. Volumen need to go back to the cutting room and scale back their hulking 60-minute LP into a tighter, leaner EP.

Although all their influences are recognizable, Volumen are a multi-genre pastiche haphazardly slapped together. With poor production values and sound quality, Science Faction is a glorified demo tape by your local pub band. Despite their ambition, Volumen have neither the creativity nor the focus to channel Science Faction into something manageable, marketable, or palatable.

MP3:
Descolada
Side of a Box

Video:
Snakes
Sexy Astronaut

This entry was posted on Monday, July 17th, 2006 at 10:00 am and is filed under Record Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.