Altere – Pieces of I
Self-Released – 2005
By Jason Jordan
Wow, Goj is serious about this. Coming off the demo
My Blood, My Tears,
Pieces of I improves upon its forerunner in every way, and is what I expect in a professional release. The packaging screams EP, rather than demo, even though it seems as if the first effort from
Altere passed the baton to the latest with little delay. Yes, this does feel like an extension of the demo. However, the subtle progression and integrity of the package itself should gain Goj more praise than ever before.
Now, I mentioned that the liner notes of
Pieces of I explain the parameters in full, so behold: “An emotional outburst of improvisation. In a moment of pain, anger, sadness, in under one hour or less a song is created and fully edited. Completely improvised with no lyrical content except for what the heart speaks at the moment. No top end production, on half broken equipment, the most complete and closest translation of an emotion into musical notes occurs.” Simple enough to understand, right? Anyway, this time
Altere have crafted four songs for public consumption, and they clock in at fifteen minutes. The improvements are, dare I say, easy to pinpoint citing that the vocals are higher in the mix and more intelligible. “I Murdered My Soul” commences with familiar instrumentation as
Agalloch-like guitar musings function as the spine until Goj enters stealthily, followed by an influx of distortion. “Everything Falls Apart in Threes” has a soundclip of waves crashing, during which Goj traverses the fret board admirably. The result is a trickling of pleasant notes. Later on, near 2:30, the melodies have an intrinsic Oriental vibe about them, and the piano interjections are excellent. Again, familiar elements (rain, piano, guitar) are gussied up for “Pieces of I: A Five Part Opus (Serenity, Rejection, Confusion, Happiness, Anger.),” which is plagued by Goj’s over-emphatic vocals. They’re simply too shaky and high-pitched, though the bells at 1:50 are a pleasure to listen to and are capable of stealing attention from the subpar vocalizations. “I’m Sorry” is a dirge that sees the vocal side of
Altere gain confidence – the “so fuck you” at 3:00 could move mountains.
In summation, Goj has upped
My Blood, My Tears with
Pieces of I, and while that point remains arguable, I prefer the latter wholeheartedly. Still, the overriding problem is that – if
Altere truly seeks a record deal – I don’t foresee any labels willing to jump on board such an experimental vessel. While this EP can be shopped around, I doubt a company is willing to put money and effort behind a project such as this. Only Goj can decide where he wants to go from here, though. I do want a full-length, but I am in no position to demand that the one-piece change operating methods. If a one-hour time limit per song is what he wants, then that’s what he’ll get.
7.5/10
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