Customer Reviews

Within A Second

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this cd directly from Eric Shans, the mastermind behind PHENOTRACT and was incredibly surprised.
Why? Because this is a one man band. Mr. Shans does it all!
But the interesting part is that every song has a hook, something different that keeps you interested from track 1 to track 14. This cd will be played on dance floors everywhere....and after so many spins....will still sound as exciting as it's first play.
Tinman Records is know for signing fresh, innovative performers...and with Phenotract...they've hit the nail on the head and kept the music alive!

I'll start my review by the artwork and then the music itself.

Cover art/liner notes: very cool...i like the zoom-in
effect when you go from cover to the inside pages, as
though we're looking from up above and are able to see
the small details of the world below (even the glowing
jellyfish, which is my favorite pic)

1. prisms i: somewhat churchlike feeling...mix of
light and dark sounds...perfect, seamless transition
into the next track.

2. twilight haze: love this one...very well
mixed/produced (though that can be said for the whole
cd)...has a very new order feel to it, which is always
a good thing!...still one of my faves (i heard this
one in demo before the cd release)

3. freezetime: nice transitions between different
soundscapes (i.e., more digitized/rhythmic in the
beginning, slower tempo midway)...song ends as a
moment ends (probably the point of the song!)...like
watching a short film, it has a beginning, climax,
denouement.

4. skydomes: another of my favorites...quite
haunting, melodically...there are a couple parts that
remind me of depeche mode's "behind the wheel"
remixed...as you can tell, i tend to like the darker
stuff.

5. motionstate: danceable, rhythm-driven,
synthy...i don't connect as much with this one, but
it's still very good, and it transitions into the next
track very well.

6. waves: very, very good...plot-driven (this is
another track with a movie-like feel)...very dramatic
shifts in sound, which i like tons..."will we see each
other again" is such a desolate line, so of course i
love it.

7. prisms ii: feels like the "dark night of the
soul"...a period of transformation, where pain is
inherent to the experience of changing.

8. drifts: feels like the morning after the "dark
night of the soul"...moody, thoughtful,
desolate...great shift at around the 3:00 mark,
feeling of unsure hope--hopeful that she will come
with you, unsure that she will...another favorite.

9. red glow: very digital world feel, a la "the
matrix"...dark, confused...i love the line, "wasteland
of diluted/deluded secrets"--i'm not sure if it's
diluted or deluded, but both words work splendidly and
give a compelling spin on the meaning.

10. lunatrip: also has a very movie-like
feel...echo/synth effects are very space-like, which
was probably the intent given the title.

11. distant voices: nice mix...vocals around 2:40
mark have underwater/echo sound to them, haunting
feel...nice blend of vocals/synth...very retro-80's
underground-y new wave.

12. neosymmetry: personal
transition/revelation...beginning reminds me of an
awakening, a rebirth, maybe molting of an exoskeleton
or emerging from a cocoon...body of song is energetic
and young.

13. outside static: busy, scattered, distracted,
preoccupied, impatient...love the space/air at around
the 4:00 mark and the music that follows...

14. prisms iii: melodic, thoughful, lovely, and then
the moment is gone like a switch was flipped...the
credits roll...musically, this was a nice way to bring
the work full circle, right back to the beginning...as
though despite all the shifts and changes we've gone
through, we're still who we were; part of us does not
change...

in conclusion: the album is at times apocalyptic,
sometimes dream-like, sometimes hopeful, sometimes
intimate...an intense, digital catalogue of the human
condition....

Recommended highly

I have to admit I've never been a fan of techno music, and without formal musical training, there's not much I can comment on regarding tones, beats, and hooks. But I can speak as an average, music-loving consumer to mention that I was so pleasantly surprised by this CD that I played it for every roommate, friend, or relative I could find, and haven't stopped listening to it since I got it several months ago.
A very noteworthy fact to mention is that this album is basically a one-man show. Eric Shans, the sole member of Phenotract, manages to combine beats, sound effects, breathy vocals, and his own written lyrics to create a variety of moods that flow flawlessly into one whole album.
As I said before, I don't particularly like techno, and I don't like to go to clubs to dance, but this album is so much more than the lyrically challenged, thumping, bass-heavy noise that I hear kids dance to at clubs these days. "Within a Second" is excellent to drive to, good to space out in front of the TV to, probably insanely inspiring to dance to, and pretty wonderful "mood" music as well.
A problem with categorizing music into genres is that you may love something you never would have thought you could love.