On
Confluence and Scrape, their debut full-length,
Albert React's music is obviously still in a state of development. The quintet's sound is heavy without being exactly aggressive, and emotional without being exactly emo, you'll hear strains of everything from
At the Drive-In to
Modest Mouse here and there, but there is also clearly the germ of a unique sound. At their best, as on the astringently lovely "July's Memoir," the songs' chord progressions sprawl out in a sort of loose-limbed beauty and the melodies meander attractively. At their worst, they just sprawl and meander without any real logical pattern; the occasional screaming feels like a tacked-on non sequitur, and will probably (hopefully) wither and fall off of the band's sound as they continue to develop. Singer Gabe Libhart owes royalties to Robert Smith in his style of delivery, if not in his lyrical approach. Not an essential purchase, but this is a band worth keeping an eye on. ~ Rick Anderson