By: Emilie P. Bush and Doctor Q

 

In an unusual turn of events, both reviewers were given Escape the Clouds’ latest album to review. Enjoying each others’ company, the two authors opted to have a symposium on the topic. Here are the results for your enjoyment:

 

Emilie:

What is Steampunk music?  Like the FCC when it comes to what's inappropriate for television, I know it when I see it, or rather, hear it.  Which is why I have such a mixed opinion of the new album from Escape the Clouds.  From cover to final track, it's Steampunk.  But proving the existence of its steamy-ness is far from knowing the nature of its performance.  The album alternates between instrumental and vocal tracks, and my enjoyment of it varied odd and even as well.  Loved the odd, hated the even.

 

Let me get the vocal tracks out of the way first - the bad news before the good, as it were.  The lyrics were uninspired to the point of banal and insipid. I know, a lot of Steampunk lyrics are so, but the un-melodious delivery of a speaker who takes his own words far too seriously and is FAR to in love with the faux transmitted ribbon-mic sound (it's a gimmick - not a style) annoyed me to the point of distraction.

 

Now, for the good.  The instrumental tracks really capture the flavor of Steam.  They are everything I want in background music for a party or meet-up: it's pleasant and listenable, non-intrusive, heightens atmosphere but doesn't overwhelm, and is highly forgettable. Those instrumental tracks on Circumnavigator are really good wallpaper.  It's got a nice mix of influences, too, including rhythms that allude to old Japan, Latino dance halls and the thrum of airship motors.  I suggest the next album ditch the vocals all together - the instrumental should be your weapon of choice.

 

Doctor Q:

I wish I could categorically deny everything Emilie just said with a dismissive and derisive snort, but she was not wholly wrong. Personally, I enjoyed Escape the Clouds’ sophomore album. If you have not seen their website, I, and Emilie, too, advise you go to it and see what they’re about. They strike me as storytellers, first and foremost, with this compilation as an audio-enhancement to their narratives published in Steampunk Tales and the like. I do applaud their efforts at making the well-rounded world in which they operate, with hands in musical work, poetry, and fiction. Truly an ambitious project, however, their second album does sound like the work in progress it likely was. 

 

The album does indeed have a distinct sound. The lovely Ms. Bush may have listened to a bit of Steampunk in her time, but I’m the connoisseur here. I have listened to a lot of what’s out in the aether, and as such I tend to work best when I place an album into a musical grouping before really evaluating it – though any placement of genre is a loose one at best. For Escape the Clouds, know that you’ll be listening to perhaps the only other band I’d label as “Steamwave,” a term coined by Steampunk’s own Vernian Process. Their sound reminds me very much of their work, but woven with spoken word and audio experimentation that has a clear influence from such greats as Tom Waits and Henry Rollins. 

 

With that said, if you like Steamwave, I think you’ll greatly enjoy Circumnavigator. However, if you don’t, you’re opinion is very likely to match if not exceed Emilie’s - easily. I find that music is really an acquired taste.   In particular, I found the combination of musical interludes with spoken word narratives - entertaining, though none really grabbed me enough to add to my set list of go-to songs.

 

Of the entire album, I think the songs “Adventurer” and “Captain Morena” are the best examples of their spoke word, with “Hunting the Future” and “Above the Overcast” as their best instrumental pieces. I particularly liked hearing the mixture of foley sound with traditional instrumentation I heard throughout. Additionally, I really liked “Steam-Powered Samurai” as there just isn’t enough Asian-influence in steampunk.   

 

However, while I am not as strong in my opinion as my talented co-writer, I do agree with her that this album fails to really strike a memorable cord. It is ambitious, complex, and layered. That is a strength and a weakness. I feel this album is an excellent effort, and while I would advise anyone who likes Steamwave to pick it up. I, however, await their next album instead. From the sound of it, Escape the Clouds is evolving fast and absorbing musical influence from all over the world. I hope their sound will tighten and refine itself into something slightly more palatable to the general public. Call it selfish, but I just can’t recommend an album I wouldn’t spin for the hundreds of ears that I am privileged to entertain on a regular basis. 

 

http://www.escapetheclouds.com/ 

 

 

Reviewer Emilie P. Bush is a broadcast journalist, and author of the Steampunk novel Chenda and the Airship Brofman.

 

Reviewer Doctor Q is the Media Editor for Steampunk Chronicle. He fancies himself an acoustic arranger of music and founder of the Artifice Club. 

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