Infaux - Regret:Zero

I'm going to start this review off with one simple word that will get all my thoughts out in just one word, or noise, for that matter, and that noise or guttural sound would simply be this: UGH. I will explain why in a bit, but let me first tell you of the band that I am about to review. Their name is Infaux, and they like to create noise, and sometimes music. They are located in the largest city of South Dakota, but from the get go, I really did not enjoy the appeal of this band.

For example, I understand that bands like to kid and joke around, but they have a picture of a cat as their band profile picture on Facebook, with a phrase going on it saying, "I can haz free EP!", with a link to their bandcamp page right below it. Going through a few more of their photos, I find a lot of digitally altered picture not to my liking, as well as use of more internet memes to promote themselves. I'm sorry, but I really do find this pathetic. Have some self respect for yourselves.

Aside from that, they do seem to have a pretty good wit, and say lines such as, "We enjoy making noise and/or music, sometimes concurrently." And are also humorously to the point, such as when they say that there influences lie under "everything we have ever heard, read, seen and done, just as yours are." Fairly nice, but, enough of the introduction of this two man group, and onto the album.

And, once more, in case you missed it from the introductory paragraph, UGH. I found myself grimacing as I played through the songs, and what's worse is that I actually had to stop the music from playing. The reason being is that if I continued to let it play, I think my face might have twisted and contorted to the point of no return, making me look like I have neurofibromatosis.

I mean, it started off mediocre with Shotgun Formation. There's a lot of drum work going on, with a slight, high pitched guitar in the back, but most of the song relies on noise and drums. When the vocals come in, you get growling vocals, which transcend in and out of an almost whiny like state. However, the song did show some promises, so I continued on in my Arthurian adventure.

I then went onto the next song, which had an interesting and ironic title: Somniphobia (A Lullaby). Somniphobia is an irregular fear of sleep, but the title suggests it's a lullaby, so, it's kind of persisting and authenticating that fear. It's a decent slow song, mainly focusing on a soothing beat, and the not-so ugly vocals of the lead singer. A decent song, nothing too great, as it doesn't really do much for myself.

But, then this is where the UGH began for me. Oz is really, really ugly. Everything just seems so much as discord, nothing in tune with the next. I mean, it certainly sounds angry, but the screaming just sucked. It almost sounds like someone's trying to be angry, but they just can't get to it, or they have no rage built behind their voice. Pack Your Bags also wasn't good at all. It has guitars, some synth work, and even some piano work straight at the beginning, but there's nothing, once more, going too right or wrong with this song that it just stays stagnant.

And, hey, then we land on an acoustic called Composure. I'm no guitarist, nor a musician, nor a singer, and if I tried, I would probably suck at each subject if I so attempted it with my current knowledge and understanding of each, but, no, just no. The guitar work sounded sloppy, almost as if it was meant to be sloppy. But, god damn, this does not work. And the singer sounds like he's in a drunken state of misery, which makes the song sound soulless.

Now, we come onto the remixes. We have a drum'n'bass remix of a song titled Gingers. Which is funny, because I have been called a ginger before, or a redhead, or a daywalker, or a pale kid with red hair; either was, this song somewhat appealed to me, at least in title. The drum'n'bass is nice, but that's all I really liked about the remix. Vocals weren't great, and nor was anything else going on in the song.

And, hey, finally we come to a somewhat good song at the end of the album, another remix of Gingers. Well, at least the synth work is pretty good, along with the drums that come along with it. But, the digitalized voices that accompany it don't really go over to well for me. They've been fucked with too much and sounds like a noise that a talking action figure would make if I shoved it in a garbage disposal.

Okay, rant over. I know that in a conclusion, you are supposed to go over everything that you had previously said and otherwise wrap up everything, but, you know, I said enough, and I am quite done with this review. Thank you for your time, and goodnight. Aug 23 2013