Chainreactor - Insomniac

To be honest I feel like I'm a nervous child at the swimming pool, on top of the highest diving board with all the school bullies yelling nasty things to me about my lack of knowledge of proper spiral etiquette, so like a brave child I leap headfirst into the pool only to notice halfway down i am swan-diving into concrete as the bullies have taken all the water out. The gist of that opening is I don't know much about Germany at all, so take this as an outsiders experience into the music of Chainreactor. Going into this review it is very safe to say that i am like a soggy puzzle piece, always there but never quite fitting in with the other dry pieces.

Chainreactor was founded in 2008 by Jens Minor, who have delivered a previous album titled 'X-tinction' in 2009. Although I haven't heard that album yet I'm sure to go back to check it out and have a quick listen to it as well, to really grasp all the material Jens has put out so far.

My first thoughts when seeing the album cover for 'Insomniac' is that the aesthetic is very minimalist, the writings very simple and the artwork is very monotone, and it actually sticks out quite well and becomes very memorable.

Granted there is not much to look at, but having something simple works well to last in peoples memory. And I do like the monotone look of all of it, it has a lasting appeal to me for reasons I can't really acknowledge or understand.

Reviewing an album like this is hard, because of two reasons. The first reason is that the genre is of something completely new I haven't heard before. Living on a state off the coast of Australia, there is a distinct lack of diversity in the music scene here and this directly fits into a new category. Secondly most of the samples and song titles are in German so I can't understand a word that's being said (they do sound cool though, they just go over my head).

The music itself on the album comes across to me as simple but catchy. The drums rarely deviate from a 4/4 signature, but it's done so in a way that comes across refreshingly well from track to track. Samples are used as well, some in English some in other languages but all of them add a little extra to each song.

The electronics are all used well, and all of them add to a nice feeling of dystopian restlessness and isolation while keeping your body moving and your head thinking all the while.

What I don't like about it is almost parallel to the same reasons I do like it, most of the songs are quite similar to one another and they all keep similar structures.

But is this reason enough not to listen? I say hell no. Its definitely worth a look, because of the sheer impact and aesthetic Chainreactor have. It reminds me of a broken atmosphere, an uneasy ambience crafted specifically for a world after the end of the world. This may not be perfect, but its certainly worth your time.

Pros: Clever Sampling, Great Ambience, Good Beats.
Cons: A Little Repetition.
Should I (The Reader) Purchase This: It's definitely worth a look. May 06 2011