Week Forty Six............Waterfall Walls .............Swim The Mind.

[gryphon]

This week I am delighted to ay that again we have an album review which has a close tie with MD.............Over the last few weeks " Swim The Mind " have been contributing to the forum and have been brave enough to ask to appear on the album review...

So they have given us access to their web site and to eleven tracks from their album Waterfall walls:

The cover ( Which looks great by the way!) is below :



The link is :

www.swimthemind.com

They also posted an e-mail address so you can interact with them

"if you want a download link email us at swimthemind@yahoo.com"

I have looked at he net and found the following on my space

http://www.myspace.com/swimthemind

http://swimthemind.com/bio.htm


( I hope this is correct and will give you some background )

I hope that I can encourage as many members as possible to spare a little time and listen to the material and post a review or two and hopefully some questions on here or via that e-mail addy about their music

Cheers Gryphon

[Music Head]

cool!
no download required
I'll be on this one over the weekend

thanks gryph and swimthemind

[gryphon]

Back up to the top !

[Music Head]

Yes it is a nice cover, even excluding the nudity. A nice see-through negligee would have done the trick.

Well, this is not my cup of tea, or coffee as the case may be. Just not a big fan of hard rock/metal.
However, it did start out quite well, liking the first two tracks.
After that it just sort of went down and never recovered.
Ended up with a 1.4 grade on my 1.0 - 3.0 grading scale.
I'm sure this is a good band, just not my genre.

1) The Drought - 2.0
2) Fold - 2.0
3) The Rope And The Pole - 1.5
4) Regret - 1.5
5) Waterfall Walls - 1.0
6) Becoming One - 1.5
7) Her Last Song - 1.5
8) Zani Norp - 1.0
9) The Groove System - 1.0
10) Questions Unaswered - 1.5
11) Inadequate Mind - 1.5
12) ......hidden track - 1.0
not sure what the purpose of this is, but I guess you had one.
As for me, after the first time, I won't wait around 5 minutes for some sound affects.

[gryphon]

Waterfall Walls Swim The Mind

The first thing that struck me about this album was the cover: it reminded me of the progressive rock days of Roger Dean and Hypnosis………….I wondered if the music would live up to the cover ?


Here we have a four piece band :
Adam - Bass
Cisco - Guitar and Cisc
Nick - Vocals
Alex – Drums


It was interesting to look at their influences : they are manyfold!
Tool, Deftones, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Portugul the Man, Porcupine Tree, Soundgarden, Jethro Tull, Incubus, Emarosa, Mudvayne, 10 Years, Dave Matthews, Sevendust, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Bella Fleck and the Flecktones, A Perfect Circle, Oceansize, King Crimson, Radiohead, Death Cab For Cutie, James Taylor, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, The Roots, Pantera, John Mayer, The Doors, Fiona Apple, Queen, Bad Company, Rage Against the Machine, Blind Melon, Brittany Spears' mommybags.


Track One The Drought :Water runs as an intro………………..I’m reminded of the early seventies Yes. There is a heavier feel but the feel is something of progressive rock.



Track Two Fold; Again the start is a natural effect, The overall feel is still quite heavy at this point there is a dark feel to the music which suggests that they tend somewhat towards heavy metal but this is a first album and these can only show the beginning ………………………..


Track Three The Rope And The Pole: A slight change of beginning type here , however, it still a heavy rock approach that is being used.


Track Four Regret: This is a lighter track and shows promise, there is something here that shows the seed of another style……………….but it needs to grow !


Track Five Waterfall Walls: A touch of early Pink Floyd starts this, maybe Syd would like this track !


Track Six Becoming One : A sign of guitars skills under used at the start here, the chiming string touches are nice but again after a short change we are back to a heavier darker sound. At times thee is again a sign or two of a breakaway style which shows inventiveness.


Track Seven Her Last Song: A more delicate guitar style gives this a very appealing sound at the start. To me this is one of the more interesting songs on the album but there is a reluctance to make the appeal of the song appeal to a more mature audience…………the dark lyric makes this a song to appeal to those who are still at the beginnings of life ……………………..


Track Eight Zani Norp: What an odd title ??? An atmospheric little number


Track Nine The Groove System: A good groove here, this track has something, there is a bit of a Led Zepplin feel. At times, and when the heavy parts subside, it feels as if the sun has come out after it has rained …………….


Track Ten Questions Unanswered: Another heavy number!


Track Eleven Inadequate Mind: Thirteen minutes plus is a long time ..............Long enough to say what you have to say ...............if there is something to say.


I think, this may appeal to those who like the darker heavy rock genre. This is a fair sized market and maybe, one that the band can live their career inside………………however, time has told us that survival is a difficult thing and it not the now market we look to but we try to crystal ball gaze the future and it’s needs………………nature’s lesson is evolution and diversification …..with all those influences and a bit of inventiveness…………………………………it should not be difficult to find an alternative path now and then.

[Thraak]

With the influences echoing many of my tastes, I really need to hear this album ASAP!

Also, it's great to see an up & coming band featured on the album review thread and the possibility of this forum playing a part in getting their music heard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so I've listened to your album via your website and heres what I thought of each track. I wrote most of what's below whilst I was listening but everything a listen twice just to make sure:

1) 'The Drought'

First track of album bursts into life with some thunderous drumming after a very apt 'waterfall' intro. As soon as the crunching guitars and soaring vocals kick in I am immediately drawing comparisons to Grunge bands such as Alice In Chains or Soundgarden but I know besides the obvious influences there's something more to it than that. Can't put my finger on it as of yet. 4/5

2) 'Fold'

After the chaos of the first track this one opens with a sinister sounding riff akin to that of Alice In Chain's 'Rotten Apple'. Vocals sound very reminiscent but can't place who it is. I'll be frank, at this point after the promising intro I'm not enjoying the vocals on this one. Guitars sound great though! 3/5

3) 'The Rope & The Pole'

Returning to the crunch rock of the opener, this song showcases a much stronger side of the vocalist's abilities with a more harsher sound both musically and vocally than it's predecessor. Singer sounds very much like the late Layne Staley on this one. 4/5

4)'Regret'

Drum intro flows into a lighter guitar riff met with the familiar vocals again. Feel this is a major drop from the last few tracks and this song kind of drags its heels along the floor like my brother on a school morning. Didn't enjoy this one. 2/5

5) 'Waterfall Walls'

Similar intro to 'Fold' but a much more sombre feel to this one. Not long in there is a subtle drum solo before the song cuts out making it the first instrumental of the album. 2/5

6) 'Becoming One'

Flowed in from the instrumental this track is notable for being the lightest yet on the album with the vocals reduced to almost a whisper during the verses. Recurring riff is unspectacular and unfortunately it's another one of the tracks I ain't enjoying on this album. 2/5

7) 'Her Last Song'

Song opens with a delicate riff and steady drumbeat. Again, one of the lighter tracks on the album. Still the guitar work is unspectacular to me and vocals don't do it for me here again. Starting to lose interest at this point. 2/5

8) 'Zani Norp'

Much more interesting this time with a much more experimental track which sounds like someone is playing their kitchen utensils . Although short lived, this is just what I like to hear! Fantastic! 4/5

9) 'The Groove System'

Opens with a lively drum beat and a very memorable riff which is much more lively than some of the others I've heard so far. Kind of moved away from the Grunge sound with this track which has more of a prog feel to it. I think this could be where Gryphon picked up on this in his review. Good track 3/5

10) 'Questions Unanswered'

Opens with a prog style guitar intro and it seems at this point that the darker, more grungier side to their music has been put aside and their progressive rock/metal influences are now shining through. I personally prefer this sound to the earlier tracks but the vocals are putting me off. 3/5

11) 'Inadequate Mind'

Slightly more distorted sound to this track but retains the form of the previous two. Enjoyed this one! 3/5

Overview

I have to say this turned out to be something of an anti-climax. After the intriguing album cover and all the music just didnt live up to the ocassion. Like I said before, it's the vocals which are ruining it for me. Music is good most of the time and I appreciate the experimental direction the band is taking but I feel as though another vocalist could do the music more justice. While I liked the tracks 'Drought' & 'Rope & Pole' and the few towards the end, around the mid-way point I was seriously losing interest.

Despite all of this I think one thing worth mentioning is that this band's strengths could lie in their live performances as I had already witnessed a live version of 'Fold' on youtube and thought it was very good! The dark effect of their music seems to have a much greater effect in live situations. Looking over my album review I can see that I didn't enjoy the studio version as much.

This is just my perception at the end of the day and I'm sure there will be a more enthusiastic audience out there for you so thanks very much for taking the time to share your music with us.

Lastly, here's the video I mentioned:
[video=youtube;h9maIkQMvms]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9maIkQMvms[/video]

[swimthemind]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for listening and taking the time to write thoughtful and in depth reviews of our music. We appreciate it.
Swim The Mind

[Thraak]

It's been a pleasure

[Jerome]

Think the cover is fantastic and your band's name is a stroke of genius. Going to listen tonight and post a review/opinion tomorrow.