Powersolo

Buzz Human

Written by: PP on 25/02/2011 19:34:12

Looks like it's Danish music day today at Rockfreaks.net, if you take a look at the last three reviews prior to this one, so let's get straight into it. "Buzz Human" is the fifth studio album by the Århusian experimental indie/psychedelic rock band Powersolo, the first one we've received as a promotional copy, and definitely among the stranger releases that ever sneak their way into our inbox. Throughout the record, Powersolo namely traverse through a multitude of styles, influences and genres, some more straightforward than others, which are just purely strange and frightening.

For instance, "Creepy" is a conventional indie-flavored garage rock track with a chorus and bright melody perfect for the radios. In stark contrast, a track like "Hear My Plea" ventures deep into the realm of drug-induced psychedelia, recalling scenes from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas for the undersigned. In between, you have a couple of tracks drawing, albeit distantly, from psychobilly such as on "Satisfy The Man", while recreating an artsy film soundtrack sort of vibe through the vocals. "Acid Orchid", on the other hand, reverts back into garage-ish rock, but with a much more gentle and caressing tone than is otherwise associated with the genre. The heavy use of pedals across the song will undoubtedly bring back to mind 70s and 80s prog metal bands, a notion fortified by the slightly distorted and echoing vocal work. "The Rither" kicks it up a notch, firing a Kill The Rooster-esque energetic blast of riffs and danceable pop-grooves in a chaotic manner, only to meet its direct opposite in the form of "Teach You Fun", which sounds like it's being played inside of your head in some kind of weird acidic flurry.

But aside from the oddities that take place during "Buzz Human", the overall theme of the record begins to unveil itself: this record and each of its songs is a rigid and thought-out re-creation of a particular mood and atmosphere, this without resorting into necessarily atmospheric music per se. Sometimes the feeling conveyed by the songs is claustrophobic, occasionally chaotic, elsewhere just weird and misplaced, but it becomes clear that everything you hear has been carefully considered to achieve the mood/atmosphere goal of the track in question. Potentially, this makes "Buzz Human" an extremely rewarding listen if you're able to disconnect yourself from looking just individual tracks, as the parts make a bigger whole, so to say. However, it also means you'll have to endure significant differences in individual track quality: while the bouncy "Sensation" has your body moving, a song like "Took It To Me Pads" will not make much of an impression. Me? I'll go for something in between, a grade appreciating what Powersolo is trying to do here (appeal to the hipster crowd of Copenhagen and beyond, successfully), but cautious of hyping it up unnecessarily much.

Download: Satisfy The Man, Acid Orchid, The Rither, Sensation
For the fans of: hipster indie rock that's slightly pretentious, atmospheric movie soundtracks
Listen: Myspace

Release date 14.02.2011
Crunchy Frog Recordings

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