Quell - One Man's Struggle with the English Language

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Forest: Sold Out
Jul 5, 2003
5,154
13
38
41
Indiana
Quell – One Man’s Struggle with the English Language
Goodfellow Records – GFR034-2 – May 24th, 2005
By Jason Jordan

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I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time. One Man’s Struggle with the English Language is, essentially, a major component of Goodfellow Records’s ever-burgeoning collection of records that simply draw in audiences and critics. Having achieved this sort of success before, Goodfellow Records are probably acquainted with the praise that Quell will receive for their chaoscore-toting debut. Yeah, I like it too.

“The Start of An Unfinished Reaction” does indeed capture the band’s id, because it commences with unbridled fury. But, as soon as the momentum is structurally sound, the song tiptoes onto mellower ground. The mathcore-infused instrumentation recalls The Dillinger Escape Plan and – when the musicians aren’t playing as frantically as usual – Zao. The downloadable “Final Transaction and End Balance” is a solid look at the sextet’s quintessential offerings, and the grooves near the end are a nice touch. Unfiltered hardcore makes an appearance at the beginning of “Requiem for Purity,” but bows out shortly afterwards in favor of the stop/start technique, which then segues into an Oh-God-we’ve-pissed-off-a-hornet’s-nest, musical vibe. Conversely, “Purge and Consolidate” presents things from a jazzier angle at first glance, and the heartfelt meanderings of the untitled, ninth track are definitely a welcome addition to the fold, as is the case with the stellar “Circumventing Language Barriers by Speaking Louder.” My main, perhaps most warranted, complaint is that Quell come up short as far as crafting memorable songs is concerned. In other words, I failed to remember much of One Man’s Struggle with the English Language after I turned the CD player off. In addition, the inane song titles don’t do much to boost the group’s worth either, though the art direction is superb.

I have no choice but to proclaim Quell’s maiden voyage a success. It’s not exactly overwhelming, but One Man’s Struggle with the English Language will probably be strutting its way into your collection soon. Dr. Abner Mality doesn’t like this, but what else is new? ;)

8/10

Official Quell Website
Official Goodfellow Records Website
 
A compendium of every cliche in the spastic tech/core book, executed with little style or wit...hope this satisfies my public... :D