Posted on: December 16, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Crystal Rain is an incredibly diverse album, and listeners will be sent on a journey that takes on hints of considerable genres. This means that before the time that the album closes up shop, fans will be hit with goth, darkwave, ambient, and all out club-worthy electronic tracks. However disparate these styles would seem to be, there is a competent hand ensuring that the effort is cohesive. Despite this being a debut, the jump-off made during the album’s initial salvo (Crystal Rain) will immediately draw listeners in.

There just seems to be a more focused creative process here, one that makes a more dense and fulfilling track. Subsequent listens to tracks like Discotorso or Hypnotherapie will yield additional hints and styles that were previously hidden; the overall context provided by the album on a first listen will be considerably different than the third or fourth. Hypnotherapie is a very cerebral track, as it unites disparate elements into something that stands apart from other EDM music. Honey Tower is not afraid to accumulate these unique twists and turns and go for the gusto. He has the talent to make these off the wall compositions work.

The album ends with a trio of tracks – Minimalgrammatik, Arrancador, and Nachtbluete – that showcase that Honey Tower is in an interesting place. The tracks end the album perfectly, but they grant listeners an opportunity to see where Honey Tower will go in subsequent albums. Make sure to check out Honey Tower’s social media profiles and see where he goes from here – I know that I am extremely excited for his next release.

Top Tracks: Red Velvet Rabbits, L’Heure Du Spleen, Crystal Rain

Rating: 8.7/10

Honey Tower – Crystal Rain (CD) / 2012 Self / 12 Tracks / http://us.myspace.com/honeytower / http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/honeytower

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