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by ben hsieh (bbhsieh) / megan kniepkamp (megnak) - Mar 01, 2005
Akudama - Flying Over Morning Review #1 - Megan Kniepkamp With the release of Flying Over Morning, Connecticut-based Akudama has shown that they could become a major force in the indie music world. Although, like any band with less than three years experience together, they have understandable growing to do, their music is of an extremely high caliber. Vocalist Blake Charleton's produces sounds which are pleasantly reminiscent of The Cure or The Killers. The lyrics are fun and unpretentious, telling everyday stories, but with just a little more flair and poeticism than most of us manage every day. The dynamic versatility of the instrumental music is what really makes the album shine, however. Though some of the songs become repetitive within themselves as the minutes wear on, each song has such a different personality that it ends up being excusable. With keyboard, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and drums, the four members of Akudama construct songs that are sometimes happy, sometimes mellow, and sometimes melancholy, but almost always enjoyable. The downside of the album, to me, is that it comes together seeming unoriginal and contrived. The music is good, the vocals are good, the lyrics are good- but something is missing. I feel like the ideas they have, such as an instrumental interlude and ender, should be interesting; instead, they just seem to be trying too hard. The focus should be the expansive and developed sound, but instead, little attempts at novelty come off as distracting. Generally, though, Akudama is off to a great start, and if this debut album is only a starting point in their growth, their potential is worth watching out for. Review #2 - Ben Hsieh Akudama's (and Endless Recording's) debut release Flying Over Morning is spacey, dreamy indie pop that relies on layered sounds, jangly guitars and anthemic vocals in the tradition of Dios, Tears for Fears, and Karate. Hailing from Weston, CT this band has a lot of the navel-gazing, lonliness and longing you would expect from a state most people forget about. Reverb and "song titles without capital letters" aside, Akudama isn't afraid to throw in a driving drumbeat or handclap here or there so you don't get lost in waves of chimey guitars or flange effects. There is really impressive sound production - the record has a consistent feel that ties all of the songs very well together. Only a few notable exceptions like the Yanni-esque keyboards on the interlude and "crescent moon drops" clash with the bands other choices of warm, vibrant guitar, but I've never been a fan of interludes anyway. With 12 full length tracks (plus two instrumental interlude tracks), this album takes a lot of time to get through - it is this humble reviewer's opinion that future recordings might be better served by giving listeners a more bite-sized block of music to chew on and releasing the rest as b-sides. Plus there were a few tracks, like "No Moon Out" that just tend to stumble over itself lyrically instead of really making you "drift away" like they quite obviously want you to. Still, this is an impressive and ambitious effort that by and large meets the very lofty goals it has set for itself. In Champaign, we probably won't see Akudama tour here anytime soon, nor will their record (from endlessrecordings.com) be readily available at your unfriendly, evil corporate best buy (SHOP EXILE). But if you find yourself driving through the prarie on early cold winter mornings or want to have a record to sit indian style in the middle of yoru room and make a scrapbook to, this is highly recommended and worth the effort to have shipped to your house. C'mon, even the multiple-piercing crust punks I know own a Keane album and watch 7th heaven regularly. If only they would shower. |