Lymbyc Systym's third studio-album was released September 18th via Western Vinyl. This effort comes three years after the band's Shutter Release (Mush Records) and their split Field Studies with This Will Destroy You on Magic Bullet Records. So what were the Bell brothers up to during this three-year span? Traveling, living on separate continents, studying, and adding personnel to their line-up to record Symbolyst.
The brothers' keyboard and percussion formula hasn't changed much from their previous work. We still get tons of tones from synths and varied drum beats to keep the output interesting over ten new songs. The drumming especially stands out on Symbolyst; where some of the songs fall flat, the percussion can always be counted on to keep up morale.
"Prairie School" kicks of the album in standard Lymbyc Systym fashion with busy key work and jarring-but-at-the-same-time-still-groove-inducing drum beats. The band has always successfully walked a fine line between genres. As soon as they lean towards a synth-soaked, electronic beat-filled track, they come right back half a minute later with pummeling live drums and maybe even slowly picked guitar (see "T-Ball" on Shutter Release).
The end of "Falling Together" might turn any room into a dance floor: heavily layered, driving bass line, dream-like synth and danceable beat. This track moves into a more tamed "Eyes Forward," one of the tracks that doesn't stand out quite as much as the album opener or "Falconer" (with a soaring key part that sounds like it's straight out of Sonic II for Sega Genesis). A few other song endings really stand out compared to the rest of their respective tracks. Lymbyc Systym might make you wait for the meat of some songs on Symbolyst, but the meat's there. Where their previous split with TWDY jumps right into water, this full-length requires a little wading.
