Programmable Animal - Programmable Animal

Though this may have released on April 1st, Programmable Animal's latest self-titled EP certainly is no joke. We're given five tracks in total that span about twenty five minutes, which speaks volumes as some EPs struggle to even hit the fifteen minute mark. Anyway, aside from some simple cover art consisting of a dried out desert with cracked bedrock and a book entwined in a rotten tree, there really wasn't any other information available on this. That being said, music can speak for itself, so let's just focus on that.

Throughout each song, Anthony Wonaitis' vocals pretty much remain the same. While that isn't bad (as the man does have a decent set of chords), it also made me want to hear him utilize his voice in some other form or range. He absolutely did his best on the fifth and last track of the album, The Book of R's, as not only was he fueled by backing vocals, but the song was able to deliver some powerful emotions by shifting from acoustic ambiance to riveting guitar and drum work. The sludge that's brought forth almost sounds like a wall of noise purposefully built for each of the songs. However, although it works in doses, it also brings forth a problem: The songs sound like they were low in production value.

Now, I'm not talking that they sound so terrible that it's beyond listening and should be burned in a great bulging fire. No; that would be a lie and you would have my words mixed with some stupid fucking thoughts in your head. What this means is that there is just so much going on in each song at once that the overall sound quality becomes marred. Perhaps better balance of all their sounds and instruments would cure this, or maybe just a more structured song writing process would help them out.

Regardless, the ambiance that surrounds each song gives a very lovely aura. I hear about a lot of bands that like to mix ambiance with their work, and then I listen to their material, and I'm disappointed to only find out that their style of ambiance is nothing more than perhaps a sample of wind brushing through trees or brief water effects. However, PA manages to include a steady base of ambient work right underneath everything else. I think Anything shows this off well, staggering in the ambient sounds between harder guitar riffs and drum pounding.

Needless to say, the EP still stuck out to me as a rewarding listen. I have my complaints, but this is another situation where the good outweighs the bad. The EP is available digitally via Bandcamp, and physical copies at this time are sold out. But, check out their merch store, anyway. They have some sexy T-shirts and other such things. Apr 15 2015