Review of The Adversary Music’s album “Chapter 2: Ritual Dream”
Albert Lunn 6/6/2014
2/5
The Adversary is headed by Andre Mistier, a New Yorker who has been exploring music for years. Specifically he looks at the link between rock and electronic. He is ultimately interested in the entire spectrum of sounds, from keys jingling to opera singers. As he puts it, “you can take a vocal, record it, run it through 45 filters, cut it up, run it through a bunch of filters again, and then it sounds like a drum or a synthesizer or whatever noise you like.” He hopes that with the upcoming tour and music videos, there will be a visual component to add to the story that he’s creating with the combination of sounds he has manipulated into music.
The album, or chapter, set to come out 6/28, opens with a less than impressive track “Starry Night.” The beat makes me feel like I am in Blade Runner or the Matrix, a bit outdated. The Bono-esque vocals don’t help either. This all being said, the beat in the end is closer to what I look for in an electronic song. More new and interesting sounds come from the next track, “Ritual Dream,” but again I am not a fan of the vocals and would prefer it if he developed a deeper and more complex beat before worrying about adding a voice. Track three, “Top of the World” has more Bono type vocals over rather repetitive hi-hats and underwhelming beats. The beginning of “We Need” is really good but then opens up too much for my taste and becomes this floaty wandering synth music with the same passive, airy, distant vocals that have been found throughout the album. The last song is a cover of The Flaming Lip’s “Yoshimi.” It uses honest female vocals and softer synths to replace the guitar. I quite enjoy the song, but it does not seem to do anything special beyond the original, which is what one looks for in a cover.
For the music he wants to make, I think he made it well, but it is not my kind of music. I prefer electronic music more focused on the beat and less on the vocals, and when there are vocals I prefer strong ones rather than ones that sound lost in the song.
Favorite Track: “We Need”
Adversary, Chapter, 2, Ritual, Dream Electronic, Yoshimi, Andre, Mistier, Celebrity, Cafe
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