The Milgram Reverie "In-Formation Desert"

When I was a classroom teacher, I would often drift into old-man-moments where I rambled about the striking interconnectivity of our modern age. I would say "back in my day" (I know, I know, not a great way to talk to college kids) "if you wanted to communicate with an individual from another country, you needed a pen-pal; these days, how many of you have at least one friend from a non-English-speaking country on your FB friends' list?" Of course, they all did. 

And I think the same is true for musical styles and instrumentation as well. We have unprecedented access to the widest pallet of sound we've ever had as a people which is giving birth to new forms of orchestration. Couple that with the innovations made in electronic sound design and the limits are, actually, endless. 

One artist making full and skillful use of intricate sound-pallets and thoughtful musicianship is The Milgram Reverie. If I had to boil their music down and try to convey the style to someone who had never heard the music before, I would say that it's sophisticated instrumentation used in a primarily "metal" framework. They have an ambitious new album out titled "In-Formation Desert" which clocks in at 17 tracks total. Far too expansive to give a detailed reflection on each song, so I've made some choice selections for you. 

I believe that "In-Formation Desert" is on some level a concept album; I'm supported in this belief by the opening track "Nocebo" acting something like an overture. Of course, it's the first track I listened to when this music was passed to me. The first sounds we hear are near-eastern percussive strings supported by distorted guitars and eventually a wild (and beautiful) string part. The shift in textures and tones gives me a ballet-like impression as if the music demands some kind of dance. 

The near-eastern flavor continues with "Happiness Machne," where we have first-rate tenor vocals carrying the song. I'm very taken with the asymmetrical rhythm in the musical phrases. The Milgram Reverie has done an amazing job of keeping a forward motion. Again, as has been the case since the first paragraph of this review, the instrumentation is a delicious buffet of tones blended together in a unique and captivating way. 

With track number 4 "Wanderer" we are treated to a guitar part which reminds me a lot of the new guitar parts we hear from the modern gurus (think Tim Hensen or those chaps from Unprocessed). It's a ballad, but still very tough - once again, the vocals are amazing! Lyric-wise the words are rather confessional which gives a personal edge to this track; the mood is bolstered by the sparse (and by comparison to the rest of the album, simple) instrumentation.

One song that navigates the space between world-music and metal expertly is #6 "Change the Channel." It's fast-paced with clean vocals beautifully effected, but with rhythmic growling guitars. It almost makes me think of a more hardcore version of Sneaker Pimps - but that just might be because I'm enjoying the vocals so much. I imagine the drummer from this track has amazing biceps. 

A real stand-out track is "Receptor" (number 9). It is probably one of the most pop-sensible (which is meant as a compliment) songs on the album but twisted not unlike something you would hear in early Bjork (think "Army of Me"). The sound design is just beautiful - and the juxtaposition between smooth ethereal vocals and chugging guitars works on just about every level. 

Of course, we have to talk about the title track "In-formation Desert." Here we are treated to some female vocals (singer: Donata G) over an acoustic guitar strumming beautiful chords and a harsh rhythmic bass. The song develops orchestrally much like other songs from this album - quite the feat of composition if I do say so myself. I don't know who does the heavy lifting when it comes to the writing of these songs but whoever does it has an otherworldly sense of melody (I just found it in the liner notes, one C. Aubrey seems to be the mastermind behind "The Milgram Reverie"). The singer has a charming accent which (sorry, we're all thinking it) is rather sexy. 

Track 13 is "Innumerable Suns" - on first listen, mostly because of the title, I assumed this would be an instrumental track. Hey, it just shows after 10-15 years of maintaining this blog, I've developed some pretty good instincts. One thing I haven't mentioned much is the extraordinary feat of engineering this album is. I listened to "In-Formation Desert" on a number of devices and the consistency of sound over numerous instruments, voices, percussion elements, and sound design is really impressive. I would be very curious to know if all of this was recorded at a distance, or in one studio - from the consistency of the sound I would assume one studio, but technology these days might be tricking me. Anyway, "Innumerable Suns" is a gorgeous track filled with gorgeous sounds that have a cinematic flair all their own. 

Remember, that there are 17 tracks on this album, and it's easy to run out of ways to say that it's an impressive array of sounds, composition, and talent. Truth be told, I'm not sure if "In-Formation Desert" is really music you can have on in the background while conversations are happening at a party or gathering. This music, much like Debussy or Beethoven demands attention. I listened to it alone more than a few times and feel like I have a good grasp on it now, the only thing that would be better would be seeing/hearing these talented folks live, imagine what a feat that would be!

But hey, we can wish :-) Visit The Milgram Reverie's BandCamp page here.