Unexpect – In a Flesh Aquarium
The End Records – TE068 – August 22nd, 2006
By Jason Jordan
The last avant-garde record that really bowled me over was
Wormfood’s
France, and the M.O. is the same on
In a Flesh Aquarium – a bunch of people, with a treasure chest full of instruments, got together and recorded an album that includes just about every genre and subgenre imaginable.
Unexpect, known for their debut
Utopia (1999) and EP
We, Invaders (2003), have succeeded in providing a soundtrack for a person who is experiencing a drug-addled, mental breakdown while traveling through various countries along the way. The hour-long journey is original, dense, busy, zany, crazy, insane, and fucked-up, though the words used to describe this music pale when actually held up to the recording itself. However, my initial reaction to
In a Flesh Aquarium was less than favorable – it irritated me – but the key to this particular record, it seems, is continual listening paired with an open mind.
Fans of their older material will become accustomed to this immediately, but strangers are in for a rollercoaster ride from the get-go as the ascent of “Chromatic Chimera” leads to a plunge in which there are string-filled, operatic moments in addition to hefty doses of metal, soaring female vocals, and samples.
Unexpect have always been complex, so one would be right in assuming that
In a Flesh Aquarium is an intricate piece of work – consult “Feasting Fools” for irrefutable proof. Surprisingly, it’s quite punishing. Violins and piano acrobatics are accentuated in “Desert Urbania,” while “Summoning Scenes” blends lounge and galloping –core with plenty of electronic ambiance thrown in between. At first “Silence 011010701” – a lull of sorts – sounds like it was culled from a cliché, B-grade slasher film, but by the end it warrants nothing except praise for its sweeping, grandiose movements, a result of glorious, saving grace maneuvers.
The rest period is brief, though, because “Megalomaniac Trees” thrusts the consumer right back into the psychological mindfuck that is
In a Flesh Aquarium. The End were wise in choosing the formerly mentioned as the single due to its likeableness, plus the fact that it acts as an
Unexpect showcase, offering a glimpse of their talents, genre-mixing, and overall propensities. “The Shiver” is actually a three-part, 11-minute track, but is split into three sections for easier ingestion and subsequent digestion. A warped, demented circus vibe thickly coats “The Shiver,” and subtitles such as “A Clown’s Mindtrap,” “Meet Me at the Carrousel,” and “Another Dissonant Chord” further cement the intended imagery. The bagpipes that bring the latter to a close – and the gong that opens “Psychic Jugglers” before launching into a cinematic, string arrangement – will have you picking yourself off the floor. Seriously, the ideas this Canadian mob develop and then execute are brilliant, and like totally, uh, unexpected. The monstrous, 11-minute finale, “Psychic Jugglers,” is a primary example of astounding talent, though by the time the last song arrives, you’ll be familiar with
Unexpect so nothing seems impossible.
All in all,
In a Flesh Aquarium is a great record. If this reviewer were to rank the individual components, musicianship and originality would surely receive 10s, and that’s when complications arise. As a whole, they’re a divisive unit that most metal aficionados – to make a conjecture – will need to be overly open-minded and diligent in their pursuit to accept this as a worthwhile album. While not a masterpiece, this is arguably the group’s pièce de résistance, which solidifies them as a consistent tour de force. So why the “low” score? Well, simply put, I’ve discovered that the replay value for these kinds of musical endeavors is very, very low. Even though one will spend an ungodly amount of time getting acclimated to this and then trying to construct lasting impressions in order to recall
In a Flesh Aquarium without hearing the music, the urge to pull this off the CD rack will begin to diminish as soon as it’s placed there. Usually, avant-garde records are incredibly fun for a little while, but start to collect dust because they’re tough to listen to every day, or on a regular basis. Nevertheless, efforts like this one are great for revisiting occasionally, and if someone ever wanted to hear the craziest album I’d ever heard,
Unexpect would definitely be finalists in that category, if not a show, place, or win.
8/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Unexpect Website
Official The End Records Website
And it seems like you've been giving out a lot of 8/10s lately, man!
