Universe217 - Change

Universe217 Change cover
Universe217
Change
Ván Records
2016
6.5
Universe217 has been going on since 2007 and have released 3 albums and 2 EPs as well as a couple of split 7” ever since. The style of this Athenian quartet is not too easy to define, an amorphous heavy somewhat psychedelic sounding amalgam that doesn’t quite fit any specific sub-genre of rock/metal but probably also applies in all, sounding like a post-apocalyptic version of the 60s female fronted Psych bands. The lady that sings, who goes by the name Tanya, has a sharp and dynamic voice that is quite dramatic, but the performances do tend to have a number of “flaws” that might have been amendable in the studio, but seem to have been edited in – which is either tremendously foolish or tremendously brave, depending on how you look at it…
 
In The Woods and Avatarium comparisons would be probably fair… but I’m not too certain if they’re too precise, probably not in the general “blur” of things, while the band’s heavy ambient psych is easy to listen to, the vocals make it quite tense and uneasy… a bit of a hit and miss I guess, I’d be a lot more interested in them, if they had a “steadier” more capable vocalist, to be honest. Fair, but not great.