Pallbearer Industry, - consisting of Pat Farrell (Guitar, Vocals), Leigh Newton (Bass, Keys, Vocals), & Jeff Dowdall (Drums, Percussion, Synths) - a recent addition to the Ottawa Psych scene, state on their debut album Astral Pollution's Bandcamp page; “Astral Pollution
is the direct result of isolation within the pandemic world. Transmissions sent
from one studio to another giving way to instinctive musical mutations”. Quite
to the point, Astral Pollution has an air of instinctive
improvisation. The record is a 45 minute auditory collage of psychedelia, drone
and grime; with each of the ten songs presenting distinctively different sonic
scenes, bound together by a common flavor of dissonance.
The album’s first and eponymous track; “Astral Pollution”, is a suitably jarring bookend to the collection. Most immediately, the band’s industrial influences bleed through the lonely synth drone which opens the song: a restless, distorted guitar begins to dance alongside it, and then, with a splash of cymbals, the driving toms lock in with the bass, which is very much a lead instrument here. As the instruments begin to speak in rhythmic unison, the seance-worthy drone gives way to a gloomy psychedelic jam session, culminating in a climactic return to the beam-like synth which began the song. At first a bleed, then a trickle, then a flood; a description which is accurate for the rest of the record as well.
At the approximate halfway point of the record; “Space Blade” is considerably busier than the preceding songs. At this point in my first listen, I was struck by the band’s ability to incorporate juxtaposing textures and tones, and to do so naturally and succinctly. The longest cut on the record, it clocks in at just over five-minutes. It packs in as many unique sounds - both programmed and acoustic - as any sidelong drone epic, but more impressively, it does so in a way which results in something relatively accessible to a casual listener. Like so many of the other songs on this record, it’s easy to see how the band could extend and augment this piece to be performed as an extended suite, which might be more appreciated in a live setting.
Speaking of the album as a whole, I earlier compared it to a collage; something like a
compilation of ideas and progressions that a band might expand upon in other
circumstances. No individual idea is compromised due to length... rather, when
the songs end, they invite extrapolation as to where else they might lead, were
they to go on for longer periods of time. Simultaneously, the record is a strong start-to-finish
listen, indicating a well established overarching style, and a confidence in
that style on the part of the performers. This strikes me as a
sensible way of exhibiting the band's various signatures in the context of a full length release, and it works exceptionally well.
One feels as if these musicians have been performing together for a long time. There is abundant chemistry and it all sounds rather thick and filled out for a trio. The band themselves acknowledge, in their brief Bandcamp description, that this album is the direct result of lockdown hours spent on composition. Regardless of how exactly they’ve gotten to this level of tightness and confidence, it’s a fulfilling and memorable listen, and it leaves me hoping to hear more from the band in the future!
-Mike
Listen to “Astral Pollution” and support Pallbearer Industry on Bandcamp at;
https://pallbearerindustry1.bandcamp.com/album/astral-pollution
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