Science in the cave - adrsta Entropic

Science In The Cave

Adrsta Entropic
self-released; 2013

3.8 out of 5

By Dan Alcantara

Hailing from the birthplace of "Prince Albert" in a can, Science In The Cave formed in 2010 and released their first album in 2011. In May, they followed it up with Adrsta Entropic, an eight-song album that showcases higher-quality recording, stronger song arrangements and a matured sound. Things that are to be expected on a follow-up. What's not expected is for the songs to be so strong.

While the first album was written, primarily, by singer Tom Green and then arranged by the band, Adrsta Entropic was a more collaborative effort. The band wrote the basis for the songs together before Green and, drummer, Sean Mcnamara began to write lyrics. The result is eight songs that feel tight and well formed. The melodies fit well within the music and the rhythm section holds each song together without feeling stiff and mechanical while fuzzy guitars and clear vocals counterbalance one another. All of this creates a sound that fits somewhere between grunge, shoegaze and post-rock. It's ambient, loud and heavy without being boring while the subject matter speaks to a fate that is growing increasingly bleak and hopeless.

"Addiction" opens the album with a dissonant guitar riff and a percussive bass. Neither of the two guitars are fighting for your attention. There's no showing off here, everything is for the sake of the song. "The Ferryman" and "Communion" are more melodic in nature and lead into the instrumental tune, "Chanson d' Automne", or Autumn Song. It's a melancholy song that suits the unseasonable cold weekend we had recently in Chicago. It's followed by "Predestination", a driving song but it's a bit of a weak link on an otherwise stellar album. "The Prophet" is loaded with imagery that feels both scriptural and apocryphal. Mcnamara wrote the lyrics to "Strange Fire", a song that seems to speak of disillusionment and regret. The album closes with "Spring Loaded", a dissonant rock song that comes so close to falling apart at the end in glorious fashion.

It's an album about fate and regret that is full of spiritual imagery that suits the sound of the music itself. You just don't regret hearing it when it's done.

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