Klatzke
03/30/09, 04:16 PM
Millennium Children - Refract
Record Label: None
Release Date: December 20, 2008
Who?
A five-piece prog outlet from New Jersey who are currently rocking their EP Refract, which was recently released on iTunes.
How is it?
The band does rather well at keeping things creative. Their sound, as a whole, is largely unfettered by the conventional sounds I've come to expect from this genre and otherwise. They cite their influences as everything from The Bled to The Mars Volta, and they take quite the nod from all of these, as well as a large helping of another influence, The Receiving End Of Sirens, throughout Refract (such as what I'll deem a tribute with the rip of the riff from "Swallow People Whole" showing up in "Stories In Shades").
The vocalists are quite the charmers, and the tempered singing as well as shrill fallsetto deserve attention. Most of the vocal arrangements involve more than one of the vocalists, and the band does well combining all of their different voices into a single, more powerful one. The screaming is normally tastefully brought in, and while there are a few missteps, (the somewhat awkward breakdown in "Company" for example), there's nothing that really detracts from the flow of the album. The musicianship is all top-notch as well, and really, this EP shows nothing but promise for Millennium Children if they keep on the path they're progressing down with Refract.
The Receiving End Of Sirens meets The Fall Of Troy meets The Bled; a toned down Mars Volta
myspace.com/millenniumchildren (http://www.myspace.com/millenniumchildren)
Record Label: None
Release Date: December 20, 2008
Who?
A five-piece prog outlet from New Jersey who are currently rocking their EP Refract, which was recently released on iTunes.
How is it?
The band does rather well at keeping things creative. Their sound, as a whole, is largely unfettered by the conventional sounds I've come to expect from this genre and otherwise. They cite their influences as everything from The Bled to The Mars Volta, and they take quite the nod from all of these, as well as a large helping of another influence, The Receiving End Of Sirens, throughout Refract (such as what I'll deem a tribute with the rip of the riff from "Swallow People Whole" showing up in "Stories In Shades").
The vocalists are quite the charmers, and the tempered singing as well as shrill fallsetto deserve attention. Most of the vocal arrangements involve more than one of the vocalists, and the band does well combining all of their different voices into a single, more powerful one. The screaming is normally tastefully brought in, and while there are a few missteps, (the somewhat awkward breakdown in "Company" for example), there's nothing that really detracts from the flow of the album. The musicianship is all top-notch as well, and really, this EP shows nothing but promise for Millennium Children if they keep on the path they're progressing down with Refract.
The Receiving End Of Sirens meets The Fall Of Troy meets The Bled; a toned down Mars Volta
myspace.com/millenniumchildren (http://www.myspace.com/millenniumchildren)