Razorfish Review for ‘Los Angeles: The Abduction’
The Spider Accomplice – Los Angeles: The Abduction
BANDCAMP: https://thespideraccomplice.bandcamp.com/album/los-angeles-the-trap
The release of Los Angeles: The Abduction from the three piece The Spider Accomplice marks the continued ascent of one of the most creative rock acts on the modern indie scene. Fronted by powerhouse female vocalist and rhythm guitarist VK Lynne, the band incorporates a number of sound effects to augment their musical efforts without ever risking pretentiousness that might drag down lesser bands. Nothing assumes primacy here over the actual songwriting and that’s how it should be. The theatrical and conceptual qualities fueling these performances are equally impressive and never dead ends. Instead, they further enhance the songwriting and performances by emphasizing the band’s well rounded vision. This is a powerful six song EP that further enhances the band’s standing in the indie rock world and holds the promise of carrying them even higher than before.
The opener “Bromelaid” will surprise some with its peculiar grandeur. This is certainly a band who understand dynamics – the steady climb of the introduction beautifully transitions into the verse and listeners will be hard pressed to not feel a little excited by the possibilities. Lynne’s talents as a singer are extraordinary. She’s able to credibly adopt a number of poses and utilize phrasing in such a way that the audience gets a variety of moods from the track. The EP’s second track, “Messy Vampire”, comes barreling out of the gate with passion and raw power to burn. Getting carried along by the sweep of this music isn’t difficult. This is a band that sounds convinced of their artistic mandate with every note and they never waste listener’s time. Another notable fact about the band’s material is how, despite working in a decidedly rock mode, The Spider Accomplice eschew any virtuoso trips or wallow in self-indulgence. Instead, everything is resolutely focused; few songs illustrate that better than “Messy Vampire”.
The winding guitar part opening “Behold the Day” has just enough distortion laid over it to give it a strong musical bite without ever veering into dissonance. This band has a surprising melodic capacity that gives even their more rugged work an upwards lift and Lynne’s vocals unerringly fix on that quality. The intensely rhythmic and rousing cut “You Still Lie” has an obviously bitter edge, implied by the song title, but it’s a musically pleasing number that doesn’t find itself too deeply mired in unpleasantness. Perhaps the only instance on the EP of the band’s penchant for sound effects undercutting the songwriting is the track “Going Over”, but others will undoubtedly find it to be an atmospheric and risk-taking. The EP’s final track “Hollywood Hotel” is a suitable climax for an album that demonstrates a fair amount of ambition – and underscores some of the band’s storytelling strengths. To borrow a perhaps overused cliché, The Spider Accomplice are interested in creating mind/music movies for their listeners and Los Angeles: The Abduction is an exemplary work in that mold.
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtdnRDUgrVs7Pj9av93aHsQ
Lydia Hillenburg
