In Tall Buildings - Akinetic

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 15 / 4 / 2018

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'Akinetic', which has come out on Western Vinyl, is the new album from Chicago songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Erik Hall. This one-man project sees its creator plunge headlong into allegories of communication, loss, impulse, vice and mass-denialism. Erik started life out as In Tall Buildings with the release of his 2015 LP, 'Driver', and has also produced records for ambient artist Justin Walter and labelmates Lean Year. He did this while touring almost non-stop and laying down the foundations for this new album. Working out of his house with producer and engineer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) in Pilsen, Chicago, Erik's hard graft has produced ten tracks of superb handmade pop and a home-studio album of great proportions. 'Akinetic' arose from his deliberate intent to write in concrete pop forms, lyrically informed by what he observed of modern culture, namely its fixation on technology-driven pseudo-progress at the cost of direct communication. “Rather than merely dwell in an inviting musical bed,” Hall states, “I wanted to write songs with intentionality that would more directly declare themselves to a listener instead of just passively inviting them in." The album starts with a track titled 'Beginning to Fade' which kicks it off with growling guitar chords and a piano with a hook that slides around, giving an inkling as to the content of the rest of the offering. The album continues on-theme exploring the struggle of impulse versus discipline on 'Overconscious', and then the slow synth 'Cascadia' whose title refers to the often overlooked Pacific Northwest that is prone to potential catastrophic volcanic destruction any day now. 'Siren Song' reminded me of the start to a National song but this is a little faster with an addictive electronic drum beat that grows the longer it goes on. This the highlight for me on an consistenly excellent album, and a guitar solo in the middle of it that distorts away into the stratosphere is just sublime. 'New Moon' starts like a cross between the Tom Tom Club and Hot Chocolate and marks the beginning of 'Akinetic' drawing to a close, which slips through an instrumental interlude and into the stunning 'Days in Clover', upon which Erik shares vocals with Heather Woods Broderick. The album ends with 'Wake Up', and a classic fluttering guitar and softly thumping drum. The vinyl LP includes a printed inner sleeve with lyrics and a MP3 download and the CD is packaged in a gatefold cardboard wallet. What makes this album quite remarkable is that it has been recorded by one person playing every instrument, albeit helped by an experienced co-producer. It marks a notable time in Erik's evolution. Could this be the pinnacle for In Tall Buildings or is there still better to come?

Track Listing:-

1 Beginning to Fade
2 Akinetic
3 Akinetic
4 Overconscious
5 Cascadia
6 Siren Song
7 Curtain
8 New Moon
9 Days in Clover
10 Wake Up

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/intallbuildings
https://www.intallbuildings.com/
https://twitter.com/intallbuildings
https://www.instagram.com/intallbuildings/

Label Links:-

http://westernvinyl.com/
https://instagram.com/westernvinyl/
https://twitter.com/westernvinyl
https://www.youtube.com/user/westernvinyl
https://www.facebook.com/westernvinyl

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