Ink siblings - offal

Ink siblings

Offal
self-released

3.7 out of 5

By Sean Dennison

Alfie Killick and Connor Kelly are not siblings but friends who craft some strange music from a home studio somewhere in England.It's tough to describe. The tracks have structure, though it sounds like it could buckle if the musicians add one more weird sound to them. Offal cultivates an atmosphere not unlike a jazz improv session. Killick and Kelly have been playing together but it still sounds like they are feeling each other out, which makes for some very intense moments but also some very boring ones.

The opener "Krow" meanders through space and time and it's whatever yet a few tracks later we're treated to the delightfully creepy "Ceiling Wax," with thoughtful percussion holding down a kaleidoscope of twangs, harp strings, subtle hums and other weird sounds. And then there's the downright oppressive air of “Architect's Vision," which features a weird buzz saw guitar lick somewhere in the middle of the song. "Neurotic Specimen" sounds as if U.S. maple were playing in a dungeon. It sounds disorderly, ominous and borderline evil yet absolutely intriguing. One thing you can say after listening to song like this is that these guys have an original sound. "Domesticated Blues" has this unique vibe and makes you feel like you just took Xanax with the slightest bit a mescaline. It felt drowsy and a bit trippy. How did they do that? The album ends with the 8 minute "Translucent Shaman" which was actually one of the more straightforward songs on the album until it starts to decompose towards the end of the song. The song lingers as if its not done with you yet.

Offal definitely doesn't do easy. It's an aural mess that takes form long enough to scare before melting into the shadows of sound. At times mesmerizing (check out the acoustic properties on wistful "Wicca"), the Ink Siblings experimentations can leave many listeners with a sour note in their ear. Fine by me, I'm about the experimental stuff, and Offal is as good a starting point as any if you're looking to get into "weird music."  

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