Jakób Ciszyn (vocals/guitars); Art Salsa (guitars/samples/vocals); Maciej Janus (bass/vocals) and Kuba Grzywacz (drums/percussion/vocals) are Aleph א a band from Sopot, Poland who describe themselves as "a gang of Pomeranian pirates", which given their penchant for swashbuckling grooves that plunder every metallic style know to man seems, to Desert Psychlist anyway, to be a pretty good description. Don't take our word for it though explore the bands diversity for yourselves via their latest release "Kairos"
"Kairos" opens with "Intro" 55 seconds of crazy dial twiddling weirdness that paves the way for "Invert" a schizophrenic opus with a constantly shifting dynamic, the songs initial attack of chugging refrains overlaid with ear catching guitar motifs driven by growling bass and complex rhythmic drum patterns suddenly dissipates into a lysergic post rock meander that also sees the vocals following a similar trajectory, forceful lead vocals twinned with gritty harmonies decorating its first quarter and shifting to an almost jazzy meter for its remainder. "Doubt" follows, its circular guitar motifs and ringing arpeggios are backed by tight economic percussion over which a variety of vocal tones and styles are deployed, the song stuttering stop/start dynamic giving everything a quirky off-center vibe. "A Swarm of Dead Insects" sees Aleph א playing their gnarly card, once again nothing follows a defined path, the songs rhythms are in a constant state of flux, guitars explode into grizzled downtuned riffs then casually drop into post-rock/prog noodling and the vocals swap between clean harmonies and harsh roars, but despite this the song sticks fairly rigidly to its heavy sludge blueprint and because of this is probably the most straightforward track on the album. "Erode" is up next and has an almost grungy jazz fusion feel to it while "Resistance" brings a little funkiness to the table as well showcasing some of the albums best guitar work, both six-string and five (bass). Things come to a close with "Whale part II" a diverse and delightfully erratic tome that changes direction so many times it leaves you constantly checking the track listing to make sure your still listening to the same song.
Complex and intricate in places blustering and brutal in others Aleph א's "Kairos" is an album that brings together so many elements from so many different musical sources it is sometimes hard to take it all in. The musicianship throughout the seven songs that make up this album is exceptional and given the complexity and the diversity of the arrangements it has to be. Is it prog?, is it post-rock,? is it sludge?, the answer is yes to all of those questions but also so much more.
Check it out .....
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