Posted on: December 25, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

The Fugue is a band that moves between noise and drone with ease. The thing with “Mysterious Animals” is that the four tracks on this EP are really not in any sense distinct tracks from each other. Rather, they feel to be different movements of the same concert. Tracks like “Rumble Bee” and “Molasses The Animal” just enlighten listeners to different sections of The Fugue; each use very angular guitars and screamed-out vocals to create their point. The major thing that comes to light about “Mysterious Animals” is the different style in which The Fugue recorded this disc; the tracks sound good but there is some compression present that holds back the guitars and drums from really achieving their purest sound. As well, “Whale Egg” shows this compression heavily on the vocal side of things and really makes the entire sound of the track suffer.

There are some sections to The Fugue that ring strong and true, such as the Corrosion of Conformity-esque guitars that play such a large part in furthering the opening of the disc on “Rumble Bee”. The track really breaks apart from any cohesion it might have enjoyed after the ending of these guitar riffs, and the half-hearted attempts at trying to re-start the rhythm really never creates anything worthwhile during the rest of the track. When a band tries too hard to attempt a sound that is influenced by two very distinct styles (again, the drone of Asva and the noise of The Locust are the two styles most influential to The Fugue), the tendency of the band to vacillate between these two styles makes any move beyond these styles nigh-impossible. The technicality present in many a noise band is absent from The Fugue’s “Mysterious Animals”. What is left is an often-times atonal type of rock that has very few in the way of linkages between the various members of the band.

The Fugue is a band without a home, and until they can find a solid direction in which to take their music, future efforts will be just as much without direction or cohesion as “Mysterious Animals”. There are bright moments during this album, but to wade through all the excess material in the hope to find one or two valuable nuggets since like a tremendous waste of time. However, there is some hope for this band and while “Mysterious Animals” might be an album one can safely pass on, there is enough talent here to give their next disc a listen.

Top Track: Whale Egg

Rating: 3.7/10

The Fugue – Mysterious Animals / 2005 RIYL Records / 4 Tracks / http://www.riylrecords.com / Reviewed 06 June 2005

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