I guess to start out I should note that this record "pays homage to both the 1986 Challenger tragedy (as you can see by the front cover) and the Chernobyl reactor meltdown in the Ukraine" as the inside notes to the CD inform the listener. The music is sort of a melodic math rock, with sort of a spaced out sound at times. A little hard to describe in writing, vocally on some songs I kind of hear a Radiohead or Sonic Youth influence. This band must be fans of Sonic Youth beings they thank Thurston, Lee, and Kim, whom I'm assuming are from the band Sonic Youth. I saw this band live a few months ago and I remember them being a lot harder. It may have just been that they were playing different songs, or just playing these ones harder. Probably the thing I liked best about this CD was the vocals. At times they reminded me of Keith Wilson from Mack, the Coffeeman. Kind of that melodic, emotion filled vocal from the heart. This CD didn't blow me away or anything, but I did think it was pretty good. Definitely a band to keep an eye on. Another thing that sticks out with this CD is the creativity, which explains my difficulty with truly expressing in words exactly what this CD sounds like. They experiment with a range of instruments, from your basic drums, bass, and guitars, to more abstract things such as sampled records (which they use a lot in concert), piano, whirlitzer organ, and a few abstract forms of percussion instruments. If you're into some of the newer emo/post-punk/math rock stuff then give this band a try.
C+
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 1999Reviewed by ConradThis emo album is hard but it drags. The music is certainly creative enough, but loses a lot when it comes to melody. Their weird chords strung together doesn't really create a direction for these songs. The vocals have that emo whine with a tiny tiny bit of Robert Smith (The Cure) "I'm singing scaaarrryyy," hint to it. Overall its an average emo album with slower type songs. C-Decapolis 1999Reviewed by MarkThis is probably the most interesting CD I've reviewed so far. Octane Blue draw influence from bands such as Roadside Monument and Built To Spill, but add their own little twists and experiments. I thought that a lot of the songs tended to lose focus, but they were still enjoyable. B-Decapolis 1999Reviewed by TimI don't understand this kind of music. Maybe I'm getting old, or maybe I'm just not bright...The style seems forced...if they would just stop being emo or whatever, and just play without making the voice and guitars sound a certain way....then it would be good....but this just seems like they are trying too hard. A lot of people will love this...but I can't get into it. It is good to know that…Similar sounding releases
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