Pendulum - Immersion

[the mongoose]

Video for 1st official single ("Watercolour") from Pendulum's new album titled 'Immersion':

[Rog]

i like it!

[//\/\/]

hmm; seems a little overpolished - poppy...

[the mongoose]

Originally Posted by //\/\/

hmm; seems a little overpolished - poppy...

<-- Would've never picked this out to be a Pendulum produced track....except the (awesome) ending maybe. Catchy, but I'd still be quite afraid to pimp this in the car too loud.

[the mongoose]

New track co-produced with Liam Howlett of the Prodigy:





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[taoyoyo]

Never heard of Pendulum before... just thought I'd have a casual listen.

Thought it sounded a bit like BT meets the 'theme from footloose' in a slightly d&b stylee, does anyone else hear that?

[Dirty0900]

For good D&B, see "Scribble".

[taoyoyo]

Originally Posted by Dirty0900

For good D&B, see "Scribble".

On the first couple of 'Scribble' listens, I was making way too many comparisons to that Pendulum track for my own good.

Is this Pendulum guy rated btw? (never heard of him before)

[the mongoose]

My Immersion album review:


1. Genesis – Skippable uneventful intro fodder. Nothing much to see here, just keep it moving folks.



2. Salt in the Wounds – Almost a carbon copy of any number of prior Pendulum tracks from their back catalogue, but the catchy squelch laden funk meets punk delivery here is the musical equivalent of comfort food, so the band essentially gets a pass for blatantly retreading. Love the slowdown break in the middle, gets the head nodding along nicely.



3. Watercolour – The vibe here could almost be described as something resembling a Drum & Bass version of the theme to “2001: a Space Odyssey” dipped in a vat of pop/rock radio production and hung out to dry. The lyrics are mostly off-the-top-of-the-head nonsense that fits quite nicely with the track’s energy. “Fuel the fire, break your vision, throw your fists up, come with me!”. Yeah, what he said.



4. Set Me on Fire – Starts out like something that wouldn’t be too out of place on the Prodigy’s "Experience" lp, but quickly switches gears into a style that is a combination of Reggae, Rock, and half speed Drum and Bass known as Dubstep that actually clicks quite nicely. Wave your lighters in the air.



5. Crush – Big and loud out of the gates with a sound that’s very remescent of the song "Granite" from their last album, but possessing a gritty, more radio rock style. The lyrics fit well with the track and don’t distract. Near the end, the song winds down and goes total acoustic….fading out all peaceful like. Aw, that’s so purdy.



6. Under the Waves – Vocal heavy track with a tranced out style of Drum and Bass that probably wouldn’t be too far out of place on “LTJ Bukem’s Progression Sessions” back in the day. The distinct main synth line sounds like it was ripped straight from a 80’s era 8-bit Japanese video game, but it nevertheless proves to be quite catchy and gives the track its own unique flavor.



7. Immunize (featuring Liam Howlett of the Prodigy) – The Prodigy’s influence is absolutely unmistakable here, and it effectively helps to lend a certain breakneck recklessness to the standard Pendulum song formula. The drums attack without mercy throughout, as distorted lyrics are shouted out wildly. Perfect song to accompany your next speeding ticket.



8. The Island part 1 (Dawn) – This is Pendulum’s biggest stylistic departure for sure, as this is not even remotely what you could call Drum and Bass music. It’s a vocal laced 4/4 straight-beat stomper with a distinctly trancey/dancey structure to it. Once the initial jarring shock wears off and you start getting into it though, it’s actually not all that bad once its "all said and done"(although it almost borders on cheesy).



9. The Island part 2 (Dusk) – Continues where Island part 1 left off, but it takes things in a different direction. Gone are the vocals and the relaxing pad sweeps of part 1, replaced here with a wall of screaming glitched out electronics. The track has a manic, balls to the wall quality about it that is refreshing and unlike anything they’ve tried on past albums. Absolutely great for the treadmill and other high energy aerobic exercises.



10. Comprachicos – Dark whispers & alien vocal manipulation reign over the vocals in this lively track. There’s a lot going on with the rhythm and delivery of the lyrics and drums to really stir things up and make it interesting. Tight production work on display here.



11. The Vulture – Explosive beats and energetic bravado vocals kick this one into high gear. Guitar is used to good effect here in really bringing the track together and giving it that extra kick. I’d say its easily one of the catchiest and most accessable of the tracks on Immersion for prior Pendulum fans to get into right away.



12. Witchcraft – Starts off slowly with only acoustic guitar and vocals, but then quickly piles on layers of melodic synths, bass, and a drum beat that wouldn’t feel out of place on one of Pendulum’s previous efforts such as “Propane Nightmares”. Smells of a future single perhaps.



13. Self vs. Self (featuring In Flames) – Drum and bass music with a distinctly Heavy Metal influence added in by Screamo band ‘In Flames’. Raspy yells of uninteligable angst dance back and forth with more traditional, harmonizing vocals…each playing off of the other to achieve the desired effect. Almost sounds like In Flames (featuring Pendulum) instead of the other way around though.



14. The Fountain (feat. Steve Wilson) – Bit of a cool down mainly due to its album placement immediately following all that testosterone being thrown around in “Self vs. Self”, and because of the melodic acoustic inderlude this track segways into at about the midpoint. The lead singer/songwriter of a band called “Porcupine Trees” (Steve Wilson) adds a seamless layer of his own musical ideas to the song, which prominently features a hefty dose of piano, guitar, and cascading drums.



15. Encoder - After an intro consisting of a melodic oriental sounding synth scaling up and down over a triple drum hit pattern that sounds oddly almost EXACTLY like the start of Chemical Brother’s “Galvanize” does. The main rhythm soon kicks in at the same time as the vocals, transforming it into something resembling “Gloria Estafan & the Miami Sound Machine” taking a stab at contemporary Christian rock music, but in a good way if that’s possible to imagine. The song peaks with a soaring anthem-quality synth encore that fades slowly away into the album ending sounds of you swimming around in water, fully “Immersed” in it.


Official one minute clips (& unofficial longer than 1 minute clips) of Immersion tracks are up on YouTube now.......>>>CLICK<<<

[stimpee]

This watercolour is a bit of overproduced fluff innit.

I saw em on Jools Holland a while back and they were alright, but nothing special.