Starting off heavily with a brooding bass line laid down by Cory and synths placed by Cian, “Blondes & Brunettes†is a wispy track, with a silence to the vocals that shows the hopelessness of the situation. While the track is beyond Spartan even after Brandon’s drums kick in, the energy exerted by the screamed-out vocals of Jacob pushes the track to the next level. The splashy nature of the drums on the second track, “The Touchdownâ€, obscure the vocals on the track to the degree that it becomes hard to discern exactly what is being said. Gaining some sort of bizarre harmony for “Crackling Spheresâ€, the punk/Replacements influence of the opening section of the track give the listener base a more complete idea of what fuels the act. The synth lead-up does a tremendous job in increasing the tension and leading into the rough and brutal guitar line that threads itself through the track. The xylophone-setting of the synthesizer provides the perfect clarity to oppose the distortion laid down by the guitars.
Creating a sense of terror with their 1:15+ lead in to the distortion-fest that is “Furrow, Sillion, Furrowâ€, the indie-rock style so carefully created by the band is continued and reaches its zenith at this point, mixing in an ethereal flow to a grunge-meets-Weezer style of guitar line. What is compelling for me on the disc would be the emo-tinged vocals of “In Fifty Wordsâ€, which has Elementary Thought Process break out of their comfort zone with almost metal-influenced tribal drums providing a low, primeval sound to the rarified synthesizer and guitars also found on the track. Sputtering at the beginning of “Sighing At Dessertâ€, it is only after the band puts their entire fire and fury into the track that gold is created; it is during these all-out, more rock-based tracks that Elementary Thought Process shines.
I came into this disc only knowing what my ex-girlfriend had told me about the band. The Ex has very shady tastes in music, but I would have to say that ey is right about liking these kids. The music, while not being bleeding-edge in any sense of the term, is extraordinarily well-crafted and able to bury itself in the niche between alternative rock and emotional rock. Interesting in its outright lack of direct influences, Everyone’s Anyone is one of few that I can honestly say did not evoke images of five or ten specific bands as I spun it for the first time.
Top Tracks: Sighing At Dessert, A Thousand Deaths
Rating : 7.3/10
Elementary Thought Process – Everyone’s Anyone / 2004 Outreach Records / http://www.elementarythoughtprocess.com / http://www.outreachrecords.net / Reviewed 18 November 2004