The Age Of The Universe

Singularity

Written by: MN on 31/12/2014 18:17:00

DC-based trio The Age of The Universe promote themselves as setting out to capture the mystery of space, time, energy and matter through a blend of alternative rock, An uncompromising and unpredictable cocktail including elements of punk, alt-rock, psychedelia and space rock. Lastly, they are cheekily comparing their soundscape to a jam session held by members of Pink Floyd, Muse and Black Sabbath. This review will test the legitimacy of this claim by taking a good and long listen to their debut record, Singularity. Tallying up at 11 tracks of considerable variety, it is clear that The Age Of The Universe reach far, wide and high to the stars. The collective effort leaves me thinking that there is absolutely no reason why this band shouldn't be given substantial attention, they are bravely attempting to amalgamate different sounds into a unique sound, but they do sometimes step over their own toes by jam-packing their productions with a plethora of different expressions, which is sometimes slightly overwhelming. Ultimately resulting in an unsharp and slightly unclear concept.

Secondly, the vocalist has plenty of potential but it is sometimes extremely strained, for example in the song "The Men On The Edge". Couple of vocal training sessions and perhaps a more humble approach would be advice from my side. Negatives aside, there are plenty of stand-out tracks which I feel easily justify TAOTU's relevance. A soothing track such as "Far From The Sun" has a certain eerie melancholia to it, the ultimate rise is climax is indicative of a trio who know how to use their instruments well. "Fallen Angel" is another exotic addition in which some timbales or darbukas are used to bring some tribalism to the mix, and this coupled with a driven chorus line makes for a good listen. "Priceless" is undoubtedly the most heavy song as it contains swings of both groove metal in forms of double pedal and elements of QOTSA's riff-laden madness. A solid solo is also to be found in the title track "Singularity". A personal favourite of mine is "Questions" that is definitely one of the catchiest tracks they have produced, easily a hit-maker. Returning to their comparisons to the three heavyweights mentioned earlier, The Age Of The Universe definitely lie closest in soundscape to Muse, I fail to see so much of a Black Sabbath influence, yet every metal/rock band inevitably can be said to have been influenced by the pioneers. In terms of Pink Floyd, I would suggest them to work on the depth of their songs if they wish to be related to some of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. Keep at it though, it is definitely not a bad source of inspiration.

I applaud bands who go full-throttle with their first release by shedding their creative hearts in a fierce effort. It's success rate, I think, will be defined by the bands subsequent development in live performances and hopefully, a more sharp follow-up that deals with the aforementioned problems regarding vocals and consistency. I am hoping to see more of a red thread throughout future releases, one that actually guides the listener through space with direction.

Download: Singularity, Fallen Angel, Priceless
For The Fans Of: Muse, Editors, Radiohead
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 03.04.2014
Self-released

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