with no artist/album title on the cover, i guessed that it was some kind of indie rock. it turned out to be an album called "fables of the sleepless empire" by a band called unexpect. i looked for some label information, but there was none; ah, a self-release, this band must be *really* indie. it did have the factor logo, so it had to be canadian. i looked at the track listing. songs were on average about 6-7 minutes. i then guessed that maybe this was a post-rock band.
finally, i saw it at the listening station, in the punk/metal section. seems like my guesses were all wrong. i listened to the beginning of the first track. it sounded like symphonic metal. i skipped to the second track. i realized that the female vocals remind me a bit of the birthday massacre and johnny hollow, in that gothic kind of way.
at that moment, an interesting song was playing in the store; it sounded like a metal band with a string section. i asked the cashier what the songs was, and she told me it was off the new unexpect album. she added that they are a 7-piece local band. ah cool. anyway, it was enough to convince me to get the album.
the cashier recommended me their previous album, "in a flesh aquarium", which is a favourite of hers. she said that she likes it because of the circus sounds. that piqued my curiosity. rather than buy it right away, i listened to some songs i found online first. i agree with the cashier, in that "in a flesh aquarium" is pretty good. i ended up returning to the store a few days later to get it.
the music is mostly metal, kind of prog at times. i am not the biggest fan of metal (nor prog either), but unexpect add such an eclectic mix of other sounds that it makes the music very interesting. i don't even mind the typical (male) metal growls that much since they alternate with the (female) ethereal vocals. i really enjoy the touches of piano and violin. i think i hear a tango beat in there somewhere too.
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Labels: cd purchase, unexpect
¶ posted by p.w. at 23:59
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