Album Review: Atomic Fruit – Play Dough
Berlin-based outfit "Atomic Fruit" describes their upcoming album "Play Dough" as a "genre-bending, unhinged, apocalyptic dance ceremony which embraces the surreal". The description sounds ambitious, but the album totally lives up to it.
The record opens with "Hibernated Embrace" that brings together psychedelic textures, gentle vocals, borderline-tribal drumming and a mind-bending keyboard solo. The album's first single "Eternal Afternoon" introduces hypnotic funky guitars in the verses and sombre overdriven guitars in the chorus, as well as a magnetic repetitive texture that sound vaguely East-Asian. Crazy synth work is also present here, right at the end of the composition that curiously sounds like a crossover between free jazz and smart 2000s electronica (think "Marasma" or "Red Snapper").
"Idiosyncrasies" unexpectedly treads into deep house territories, only to tear up our expectations once again, when raging guitars and extremely emotional vocals come in. "Inside My Head" has hints of bossa-nova in the arrangement and of Eastern European folk music in its violin part, while "Serendipity" marries cold-blooded pulsing techno bass line with "Radiohead".
The first minute and half of "We Control" is pure trance-inducing ambient, and then the composition mutates into slow sombre rock. "Volcanology" feels instantly catchy thanks to its memorable bass bass line and ornamental guitar parts that sound almost like brass, while the intricately crafted "Fine Print" is definitely a grower.
The record closes with a rich and layered "Play Dough" that boasts undeniably hypnotic vocal melodies and merges meditative music (think Alice Coltrane's Indian albums) with ritualistic folk and pure raw blues.
Overall, the record is rich, detailed and highly melodic. The attention to sonic nuances and genre-bending character of the songs, along with beautifully structured melodies will definitely appeal to fans of "alt-j" and "Radiohead". However, the band's approach to songwriting itself is unique and escapes easy comparisons.
Check out the album's first single "Eternal Afternoon" and expect to hear the full record on October 21.
The record opens with "Hibernated Embrace" that brings together psychedelic textures, gentle vocals, borderline-tribal drumming and a mind-bending keyboard solo. The album's first single "Eternal Afternoon" introduces hypnotic funky guitars in the verses and sombre overdriven guitars in the chorus, as well as a magnetic repetitive texture that sound vaguely East-Asian. Crazy synth work is also present here, right at the end of the composition that curiously sounds like a crossover between free jazz and smart 2000s electronica (think "Marasma" or "Red Snapper").
"Idiosyncrasies" unexpectedly treads into deep house territories, only to tear up our expectations once again, when raging guitars and extremely emotional vocals come in. "Inside My Head" has hints of bossa-nova in the arrangement and of Eastern European folk music in its violin part, while "Serendipity" marries cold-blooded pulsing techno bass line with "Radiohead".
The first minute and half of "We Control" is pure trance-inducing ambient, and then the composition mutates into slow sombre rock. "Volcanology" feels instantly catchy thanks to its memorable bass bass line and ornamental guitar parts that sound almost like brass, while the intricately crafted "Fine Print" is definitely a grower.
The record closes with a rich and layered "Play Dough" that boasts undeniably hypnotic vocal melodies and merges meditative music (think Alice Coltrane's Indian albums) with ritualistic folk and pure raw blues.
Overall, the record is rich, detailed and highly melodic. The attention to sonic nuances and genre-bending character of the songs, along with beautifully structured melodies will definitely appeal to fans of "alt-j" and "Radiohead". However, the band's approach to songwriting itself is unique and escapes easy comparisons.
Check out the album's first single "Eternal Afternoon" and expect to hear the full record on October 21.