Implodes from Chicago is a very interesting act. Their debut album Black Earth which came out in 2011 was an unbelievable blend of noise, post rock and kraut rock which showed the band balancing all these different elements to find their unique sound. A couple of years afterwards this insane company was putting out their sophomore release, Recurring Dream, digging even deeper within their musical identity. That is where the origins of their newest EP, Reverser, are found since two of the tracks in this release came from the Recurring Dream sessions and the other two have been recorded specifically for Reverser.
Implodes move on a steady pace with their tracks. In “Lazy Skull” they are taking their time to unveil the song with the solid drumming giving more impact to the song as it progresses. A similar implementation is found in “Don’t Leave the House” but Implodes take things a step further, with the tension rising and the pace getting faster when the full drums are introduced. The band shows a quite out of the box thinking with their concepts. In an even more intriguing manner the band employs a more mechanized sound to their rhythm section in the final song of the album, “Reverser.” What all this helps greatly is the way in which the melodic lines of the band are able to find their place within the music. The guitars might be appearing with a ton of distortion on them but the underlying message is quite clear. From the very first lines of “Out Of Reach” to the brain melting moments of “Lazy Skull” and the ethereal applications of “Don’t Leave The House” a plethora of phrases is being launched from the band.
What separates Implodes from more conventional acts though is the extent to which they will go to alter their sound. The application of fuzz is key in order to achieve that in this case, with the band bringing in some intriguing concepts throughout Reverser. The way the effects blend with the noise in the opening track is something monumental as the song takes off with the creation of soundscapes. The amount of fuzz is stunning but Implodes do not have an issue pulling that off, with huge guitar parts in “Lazy Skull” being a testament to that. There are moments when the band will let the noise stay on the background lurking and then slowly taking over, a technique they use in the closing track of the album, but at other times they will throw you into the deep quite soon. The way in which the extreme distortion comes in halfway through in “Don’t Leave The House” will make your face melt, for example.
Implodes will further enhance their sound with the addition of effects that further forge the structures of their tracks. The underlying lines in the opening track are a prime example of this side of the band, as is the more ambient manifestation in the start of “Reverser.” And of course with the vocals existing in absolute harmony with the music, buried a bit lower in the mix and being affected by the noise and effects. The emotion that the voice carries is a big part of the band’s sound, with their expressive performance in “Out of Reach” and the more personal tone of “Lazy Skull” standing out in particular.
Still the main focus of Implodes is the feeling that their songs will transmit. Even though they make use of a whole ocean of fuzz, the songs do not appear to be menacing, even when faster bits are presented. Instead the band brings a more dreamlike aura to the table, aided greatly by the open vocals and the melodic phrases from the guitar. In other cases of course they might drift a bit away from that feel, as they do in the opening song with a more imposing and almost epic approach, and in the more ambient heavy title track. Still it does seem that no matter what they do it works well for them and enhances the great sonic illusion that is Reverser.
