Getting the whole family together can be, for some of us, a bit of a headache. Crazy Uncle Jim and his rubber leg are a bit awkward and Grandma Elsie’s absent-mindedness has resulted in more than a few embarrassing moments, especially where Uncle Jim’s rubber leg is concerned. But no matter what, we still love these crazy people.
For mad noise rock band An Albatross, a family reunion of sorts was a must. By reuniting nearly every band member since 1999 and adding a bit of new blood to the arrangements, The An Albatross Family Album really is the sort of shambolic and insanely imaginative piece of miraculous madness expected from such a motley crew.
The record began as a series of basic tracks put down at Hypersnakes Studio in New Jersey during a week-long session in early 2008.With a core group in the studio, more sessions piled on top of other sessions. July 2008 saw the band’s core united and reuniting with some 14 fellow musicians and composers to lay down the nine tracks of this most peculiar Family Album.
Dizzying and discombobulated, The An Albatross Family Album isn’t music for the faint of heart. The tracks weave together to tell an allegorical tale about a tribe of pilgrims on a journey to discover the cosmos and find the recipe for peace and understanding.
“Neon Guru” starts the voyage, venturing audaciously through an often-mindless mesh of tempos and sounds. Its gasping pace is accented by the shouts and pleadings of Edward B. Gieda III’s maddening vocals.
“…and Now Emerges the Silver Pilgrim” is a fanatical offering, laying steps on the journey with demented percussion and a thunderous barrage of screeches, blasts, and abnormal melodic segments.
“The Hymn of the Angel People” locks into the lunacy of the earlier tracks and sounds like torment, representing a widening path on the expedition. “The Goddess awaits, unlock the gates, baby!” Edward shouts in the din. There is a wild feel to the song, as the mass of instruments runs downhill as though from some sort of mammoth beast.
“The Psychonaut & The Rustbelt” comes off as though helmed by a drunken carny barker, swelling with a mess of sounds and Edward’s insistence that “Tonight, we get it on.” And “Starving on Rabbit Meat” tweets and sputters into existence with crashing electronic noise and a blazing guitar that toys ever so slightly with hair metal.
“A Convivial Feast of the Peace Beast” sounds like a cloud of killer bees put to music by an odd array of organs, guitars, and yelping vocals. “Floodgates Released” follows up by, yep, releasing the floodgates in a mass of punkish, grunge guitar.
“The Electric Proletariat Rides a Velvet Chariot” boots up with a light does of noise and carries profoundly into an unyielding barrage of noise, sound, and chaos.
The closing track, “3,000 Light Years By Way of the Spacehawk” is remarkably tender and beautiful, entering existence with a pleasant wash of strings and horns. It sails, venturing into a Boredoms-esque break with a gorgeous melody carrying over the ground.
There are moments of strange beauty within all of this insanity and there is a purpose to the harsh noise. An Albatross has a story to tell, depicting a world gone wrong and the ultimate conquering nature of undying love. But The An Albatross Family Album isn’t for everyone, especially Grandma Elsie. Crazy Uncle Jim, on the other hand, now that’s another story.