True

Violens | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 15, 2012
• Label: Slumberland Records
• Copyright: 2012 Slumberland Records
• Total Length: 37:06
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi
  • Alternative Rock > Singer-Songwriters
  • Rock
• ASIN: B007K680A4
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,601 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars well-crafted dream-rock for the Summer of 2012 July 7, 2012

By J. Higgins

Format:Audio CD

Formed in 2007 by Jorge Elbrecht (vocals, guitar), the Violens are a New York City band with a current lineup of Elbrecht, Iddo Arad (keyboards), and Myles Matheny (guitar).

I first heard tracks from the Violens at the `Old Waver' blog, and wound up getting `Amoral' (2010) their first album.

`Amoral' contained a number of good cuts and showcased the band's familiarity with a lot of guitar themes and styles, with tracks calling to mind 60s pop, 80s synth rock, and 90s guitar-centered progressive rock.

The track `Until It's Unlit', with its mellow, dreamy sound that calls to mind a mutant offspring of the mating of The Ocean Blue with Pink Floyd, was a great song and (in my opinion) one of the best progressive rock songs of the year, if not the decade 2010 - 2019 (listen to it before you decide that I'm talking nonsense).

Now it's Summer 2012, and the Violens are here with `True'. The emphasis on this album is on tunes with a bit more restrained sound as compared to `Amoral'; all tracks are infused with a dreamy, reverb-heavy sound that can be mellow, soothing in a melancholy, even depressive way, but never insipid.

Most of the songs on `True' are propelled by well-placed guitar rhythms, overlaid with echo-chamber vocals and synths. The opening track `True' perhaps best exemplifies this approach, as does the second track `Der Microarc'.

`Sariza Spring' is a more laid back, dream-rock tune.

Things get a bit too artsy with the track `Lavender Forces', basically an extended segment of Pink Floyd - style white noise, segueing into `Unfolding Black Wings', an up-tempo song. Also running high in energy is `All Night Low'....

`Through the Window' is an outstanding New Psychedelia song, trippy enough to stand in company with the best from Tame Impala.

For me, some tracks were a little too vague; `Lucent Caries' didn't really seem to get much traction away from the opening riffs, while the final track, `So Hard to See', also came across as a bit unfinished.

My only other gripe is that the vocals on almost every track are difficult to make out, too often getting overwhelmed by the musical blanket being weaved around them. This may reflect a deliberate decision by the band, but call me old-fashioned: I like to be able to hear the lyrics.

In summary, `True' will be welcomed by all fans of guitar-centered dream-rock. If you like listening to Real Estate, Little Black Dress, and The Radio Dept., then you'll want to listen to the Violens as well. Read more ›

4.0 out of 5 stars Dreamy, but energetic, driving and diverse indie pop August 16, 2012

By Charlie Quaker

Format:Audio CD

2nd release from New York City band with ex-members of Lansing-Dreiden. Sugary summer pop
with bouncy rhythms & ethereal chorus harmonies that occasionally take on a loping, echoic
psychedelic shoegaze guitar and strangely dark overtones. Dreamy, but energetic, driving and
diverse indie pop. Recalls a mix of bands: Wild Nothing, Pale Saints, the Church, Beach Boys,
Rain Parade, Belle & Sebastian, Cocteau Twins.