Buildings Breeding – S/T

Buildings Breeding – S/T / 2007 Mushpot / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/buildingsbredding / http://www.mushpotrecords.com /

Buildings Breeding play a dreamy type of indie cum pop rock music that will bring individuals back to the shoegazer genre present in the early to middle nineties. The use of clapping during the opening track “Stacking Up Reasons” further closes the sound in on the band, to make it seem as if the band is sitting in a living or dorm room with their fans. The slightly gritty vocals of Chris on the album have a number of influences that present themselves clearly during the songs on this self-titled album, but have enough of Larsen’s soul present to establish Buildings Breeding as a bold new band.

The focus shifts between the dreamy instrumentation and the slightly more substantial vocals; while a song like “Emmawood” may start out in a purely instrumental way, the inclusion of Melanie Glover’s vocals on the track brings something new to the table. The band is able to maintain some form of momentum during “Emmawood” with the inclusion of a bass that is present and audible throughout the entirety of this track. The band makes the first sea change to their self-titled disc with “Beesting”. During this track, Buildings Breeding continue with the gritty, strung out vocals but add a much more middle Eastern sound to the mix. This makes Chris’ vocals achieve a “Midnite Vultures”-era Beck type of sound. After settling down into a style for a few tracks, the band’s shift here allows individuals to be re-energized. This grant of a new lease on life makes it possible for individuals to keep going throughout what is a very interesting, but incredibly cohesive (almost to a fault) album.

Another thing that the band does that is intelligent and allows for more individuals to get through the album is cut back the runtime of a number of tracks during the middle of the album. This means that tracks five through eight all are kept under the three minute mark. These shorter tracks end quickly and bring individuals to the end of the disc in short order. For example, the track “Stars are Smitten” is a track that relies a little more on sixties, pop rock sound (as played through the filter of the jaded nineties). The band may never have a track that will be the next “Icky Thump”, but Buildings Breeding put together a hell of a solid album. For fans of Elliott Smith, early Flaming Lips, and the like.

Top Tracks: In My Hands, Beesting

Rating: 6.5/10