Aphasia

The suggestion of a new release by an instrumental Taiwanese rock band may give off the impression of a record filled with new sounds and structures that are non-existent in your run-of-the-mill indie record, but it turns out that Aphasia’s The Crocodile Society of Aphasia is no more revolutionary than Coldplay’s X&Y.

It’s not to say that the overlapping of distorted chord progressions and consistent use of volume dynamics is not exhilarating – the rhapsodic changes in tracks like “Deep Spring” are interesting by nature and you can almost visualize “The Freedom Highway” reaching it’s articulated climax – but by the eighth and final track it becomes apparent that every song on the album sounds unsatisfying similar.

Even for an instrumental record without any restrictions in terms of the interpretation of lyrics or limitations of the human voice, none of the tracks on The Crocodile Society of Aphasia seem to evoke any emotion or the feeling of any memory. The generally dingy tones featured throughout the album become disheartening and there is no compensation for it in its mundane melody lines. The instrumentation and structures that each song is comprised of are redundant – clanging electric guitars and sudden percussive outbursts that become increasingly frequent as the song progresses – and leaves one wondering what it is they gained from their listen.

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MySpace: www.myspace.com/aphasiatw

Catch Aphasia for free at Harbourfront Centre this Saturday!