The Always Already - The Always Already EP Review
Posted by Marques Furumoto on 04.16.2007
Redundancy done right? Austin rockers serve up second pint-sized set.
Considered by some to be one of Austin, Texas’ best up and coming bands, The Always Already have toured their home state for much of 2006 and 2007, garnering a slew of mostly positive buzz. The band continues to tweak their evolving new wave/post-punk musical style, and their decidedly dark self-titled EP has been well-recieved by local critics in Austin.
The songs on The Always Already’s EP (their second to date) do maintain a somewhat unsettling likeness to one another, and listeners will probably feel that the resulting palette is conspicuously monochrome. Then again, while we’ve definitely heard this sort of riffy, spacey, keyboard-backed post-punk before, The Always Already’s brand of noise has just enough nuances to it that it’ll likely lure back listeners for a second, and later, third and fourth listen. While the whole faux British accent thing is getting more than a little old, these Texans at least manage to affix an apt gloomy disposition to their quasi-Brit delivery.
The EP is a notably short jaunt, due obviously in part to the moderate runtime, but the songs’ tendency to almost stealthily run into each other are also at fault. Therein lies the biggest problem with the EP. It’s remarkably controlled racket throughout – especially on “Maybe it’s Geography” or “I Am Electric” – but it’s also a mostly unobtrusive affair. The energy level and pace remain constant throughout, and while I could definitely see myself in a swank – or smarmy, either seems appropriate – bar that would cycle music like this until 4:00 A.M., I can’t guarantee that I would come away needing to have said music on my mp3 player either. The Always Already’s EP is in fact quite good, but it’s easy to gloss over that fact sans the opportunity to deliberate with the record in hand.
Yet given the chance to spend some time with The Always Already’s EP, the calculated spree across the four tracks really has a sense of perpetual motion to it that’s a shade under stirring. It’s not music that you can really actively dance to, but it’s nigh impossible to not be swayed by it. The Always Already really manage to effectively dabble between extremities here, as while it’s really difficult to imagine anyone specifically feeling the urge to pop in the CD during the day as opposed to the night (or vice versa), “Kinetic Hillsides” in particular really makes for one heck of a dusk song.
1) Kinetic Hillsides
2) Maybe it’s Geography
3) T.I.A.
4) I am Electric
The 411: Dark without being depressing, bouncy but in no way jovial, The Always Already’s EP provides for a fairly unique and offbeat 15 minutes. While the sound may seem redundant at points, the calculated congruency also has a peculiar, almost hypnotic effect. The set certainly won’t blow your mind, but it’ll probably earn its fair share of rotation time with most fans of the independent scene. The Always Already’s EP shows considerable promise, and you can’t ask for much more from a developing band. Expect good things from these guys in the future.
