Label: Mush Records

Web site: lymbycsystem.com

Release Date: Jan. 30, 2007

Lymbyc System - Lover Your Abuser
Matthew Ralph

Much as they are live, this duo are pretty straight forward in this their debut full-length, turning in a collection of 10 songs in just under 40 minutes with a continuous thematic swath of keyboard, programmed elements and urgent percussion.

Fans of The Album Leaf, Saxon Shore and Mogwai are sure to find a home in this soundscape that is much fuller than the appearance of the two lanky gentleman responsible for hitting the switches and keys and hammering the drums might suggest.

Raw and energetic, the songs make for an enjoyable ride even if in the long run they fall short of the juice brought by the live performance.

Song order may have something to do with that. At times, the transitions are lengthy and the songs feel somewhat restrained. On the opening track, "Rest Easy/Age Kindly", it seems like the song ends right where it feels like it is just starting to get good. With 20 seconds to go in the track, a snappy beat starts coming in that stops dead in its tracks.

Over the course of the first couple listens I was almost convinced that my CD had skipped, missing the foreshadowed brilliant finale to the song.

The next song, the album's title track, does eventually recover about three minutes in with a distorted keyboard resembling a guitar and some percussion elements that eventually climax with the loud clanging of drums.

Applause preceding "Astrology Days" is most appropriate in that the song is one of the stronger tracks on the record, most notably halfway in when the keyboard and drums duel, giving way to the distant sound of a horned instrument that carries the tune to its finale.

Taken as a whole, this record fits in nicely with a lot of the Lymbyc System's contemporaries in the instrumental music genre. Picked apart, its shortcomings might shorten its staying power or its "look at me" potential in a growing pool of instrumental acts.

But the combination is there for a promising duo whose songs translated live make for an even more captivating performance.

posted [03.09.07]

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