Echodrone make the kind of music that words like “magnificent” and “majestic” were created for. As a whole, Resurgence is every bit as epic and elegant as fans have come to expect from the San Franciscan quintet while transcending modern tropes to become tantamount to true perfection within Echodrone’s already impressive body of work.
In terms of overall scope in regards to Resurgence, Echodrone bring a little bit of The Receiving End Of Sirens (Think The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi in particular) to the table alongside dredg in their infancy with bits of Pulse Ultra or The Apex Theory and the penchant for complexity and experimentation within the heavy all wrapped in a a fuzzy Failure blanket that hones in on the Alternative in the most broad sense.
“Midnight Frost” immediately offers up that range of sounds beginning much the way a fugue would within a symphony, laid out in parts with recurring themes which build towards the most grand of peaks. Eugene Suh and Jackie Kasbohm’s vocals intertwine like some otherworldly entity with Brandon Dudley and Andy Heyer’s bass and drums respectively droning and brooding to create a cacophonous clash between the instruments amidst Suh’s guitars and Mike Funk’s synthetic sheen.
Kasbohm takes center stage on the decidedly upbeat “Jaded” which just glows, fueled by an undertone of throbbing grooves and a masterful magic coming from Heyer and Dudley again with Suh giving his own guitar school masterclass. “Grain Of Salt” is built from a solid pulse with monolithic accents from a seemingly endless wall of amplifiers as layers of vocals are heaped upon this solemn number while “Diamond Needle” has some of that early fire that made The Raveonettes stand out during their onset.
“Heart On Sleeve” is the first thing on here to sound like anything “traditional” and even this is mighty with a massive synthetic sound from Funk that mixes New Wave and the aesthetic of those neon-soaked Electro-noir flicks of the ’80’s with parallel vocal lines from Kasbohm and Suh creating a Pixies meets Blade Runner vibe. The band continue to surprise and master the art of the old school with their take on Billy Joel’s “My Time” which, when put through an Echodrone filter, comes off like Devo meets Telekinesis.
After that blast from the past, “A Ghost And A Walkman” closes out Resurgence with a track that is just mega. Suh’s words come at listeners with intent yet are laid back as Kasbohm offers a ghostly response which come together with the sounds being produced by Funk, Heyer, and Dudley like different colored paints mixing together as they’re swirling down the drain into an unknown abyss. But in a good way.
Resurgence drops on March 5th through Dome A Records. Pre-orders are available now and can be perused and/or purchased by heading here. For more on Echodrone, follow them across their socials by heading here, here, or here.