I Bow Candles
The Outs And Breakdowns Of Symmetry
Self Released
2012
The mysteriously monikered “I Bow Candles” (an obvious wordplay on I Blow Candles) are a UK/Greek trio, (featuring members of Versus Heaven and Wild Machine among others), that performs a very odd and eccentric, one could even say eclectic, mix of rock music, with many bizarre elements tossed into the mix. There are electronic parts, acoustic parts, eerie keys, odd rhythmical parts, off key and off the wall pseudo-choirs, nursery rhymes and rather paradoxically executed over the top vocals that, intentionally, seem to verge on salacity and have often a sarcastic, off-key character. All intertwined, they remind of a very obnoxious but strangely alluring mix between the Mars Volta and the Tiger Lillies.
I will admit that this is not entirely my cup of tea, although, I do enjoy, the odd, oddity now and then. The problem here isn’t that these guys don’t have ideas or that they cannot execute them well enough. I guess, on their quest to be “different”, they just manage to become to mind-bending in less than 40 minutes really.
“Bloody Merry Go Round / Demonstration” demonstrates amply the bands intentions and from a rather semi-spoken, semi sung intro, goes, into a gloomy, electronic mood of doomed, decaying melodies that base themselves upon a rather simple keyboard motif.
“Derbistrip” bases its self on the stringed instruments, but has tons of keyboards and felt like going through a rabbit’s-a$$-hole, really, on a bad trip to wonderland!
“Thawing Zero” is even weirder, with a very electronic introduction that then is stripped down to the bare essentials, with the song becoming rather desperate and claustrophobic.
“Locus Divide” is a little more “normal” but still maintains all the elements of the band’s sound, just not turned up to 11. It’s rather slow winded and soul wrenching.
“The Light Is Baying” feels like listening to P.O.S or prog/jazz/fusion while on LSD…
While “(St)ill Recurrent” is more of the same, but several times faster! I must say, that this is the song I liked quite a lot, since it was like a sped up/fu$ked up version of some “Cockney Rebel song” with radio interference and even a solo… J
“Escaping Her Cocaine Capsule” closes, this “extended play” collection of songs and felt actually like the “hit” of this “album”. After having accumulated the style for over half an hour the catchier and slightly less odd parts of this less “eccentric” but certainly provocatively titled composition, kinda won me over.
A quite psychotic, aural trip, only for those who’re into this kinda thing or those who dare! Proceed with caution! Bad Trip man, Bad Trip!
I will admit that this is not entirely my cup of tea, although, I do enjoy, the odd, oddity now and then. The problem here isn’t that these guys don’t have ideas or that they cannot execute them well enough. I guess, on their quest to be “different”, they just manage to become to mind-bending in less than 40 minutes really.
“Bloody Merry Go Round / Demonstration” demonstrates amply the bands intentions and from a rather semi-spoken, semi sung intro, goes, into a gloomy, electronic mood of doomed, decaying melodies that base themselves upon a rather simple keyboard motif.
“Derbistrip” bases its self on the stringed instruments, but has tons of keyboards and felt like going through a rabbit’s-a$$-hole, really, on a bad trip to wonderland!
“Thawing Zero” is even weirder, with a very electronic introduction that then is stripped down to the bare essentials, with the song becoming rather desperate and claustrophobic.
“Locus Divide” is a little more “normal” but still maintains all the elements of the band’s sound, just not turned up to 11. It’s rather slow winded and soul wrenching.
“The Light Is Baying” feels like listening to P.O.S or prog/jazz/fusion while on LSD…
While “(St)ill Recurrent” is more of the same, but several times faster! I must say, that this is the song I liked quite a lot, since it was like a sped up/fu$ked up version of some “Cockney Rebel song” with radio interference and even a solo… J
“Escaping Her Cocaine Capsule” closes, this “extended play” collection of songs and felt actually like the “hit” of this “album”. After having accumulated the style for over half an hour the catchier and slightly less odd parts of this less “eccentric” but certainly provocatively titled composition, kinda won me over.
A quite psychotic, aural trip, only for those who’re into this kinda thing or those who dare! Proceed with caution! Bad Trip man, Bad Trip!