It’s like Helmet and Melvins formed a supergroup. Murnau doesn’t sound like many other bands today, and there’s a reason for that. Sourcing inspiration from arguably one of the most dividing genres we’ve seen, they take solace in grunge. There is a switch to metal and hard rock in places, but the pockets are full of fleeting memories. This is called Cellophane Radio.
The opening act Baltic Sea is a perfect touch of the tonality that Murnau loves. It expresses the frustration, anger, sadness and joy in a mixture that is difficult to arrive at. It is higher on the treble feel, the percussion providing the punch with the chord changes. The shift from softer notes to hard falls is where the excitement lives.
Awake is the next single, bringing some exploratory sounds for something of a punch in the gut of a riff. It is totally unexpected, throws you off, and is on brand for what grunge metal signifies. This instrumental niche is enough of a mystery abode to revel in, and almost cathartic after a while. The vocals contrasting the heaviness play an important part in selling this kind of sound. Dear Darkness purposes the intro for a more direct verse section. The tone is different from what you’ve heard till now. In parts, it sounds like, Gluey Porch Treatments by the Melvins, one of the best albums they’ve released. The dynamic shift is perfect for listening it to as an album, which is what you should be doing. The chronology starts to sink in with the kind of sound that is produced.
In a distant echo
Repent sounds like a Kyuss riff preparing to bring in the heat. It really explores this groove, creating an interesting pattern of interaction with the vocals. When the heavy chorus kicks in, it creates the dissonance it was teasing, making it one of the heaviest, most delicious tracks on this album. Dalia is the next track, Murnau bringing the meditative, soaring nature of the guitar parts. Do they sometime sounds like Smashing Pumpkins? Yes, they create an arena of sound for themselves where this sound, and its journey, can be explored. It builds to an end better than any dramatic closing sequence of any TV show ever, bringing the essence trapped in a glass jar of chaos.
Solara has an alt-rock feel that teases shifting to the chorus in various parts. The tone they create is fuzz fulfilling, the verse splitting the distortion with its own take on the sound. It encapsulates, in a nutshell, what is the source of the thing that amplifies their emotions. Primroses closes this album in spectacular fashion, taking cues from the kind of genre shift the indie rock music society has been aching for. This is the balm, and its only for the worthy. The narcotics wear away, but Murnau know this kind of audio lasts forever.
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
