Elaine Peppard posted on July 27, 2010 19:00
A review of the album 'For Posterity' by Ten Kens
Review Snapshot: 'For Prosperity' is the second album from Toronto Four-piece Ten Kens. The album is a heady mix of psychedelic rock and meditative melodies. If Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ and Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ had a baby, this would be its offspring.
The Cluas Verdict? 4 out of 10
Full Review: ‘Johnny Ventura’, the first track from ‘From Posterity’ opens with sunny guitars and cymbals but quickly takes a turn down a darker path, something which becomes familiar throughout the album. The album is drenched in heavy guitar riffs that help establish the intensity of the record and, throughout, the foursome’s musical talent is apparent.
‘Summer Camp’ opens on 15 seconds of silence followed by the acapella voice of Workman. His voice is so high and smooth that without backing, this song could easily be heard in a church choir, something which adds its own dark undertones. Once again the lyrics might as well not be there, since they really can’t be understood; so much so that I think the band didn’t want them to. This is extremely annoying.
In ‘Grassmaster‘, we hear everything from heavy metal shouts, grunge-like moaning and that eerie, recurring vocal. However it is the drum beat that grabbed my attention throughout, as it becomes ever more frantic and domineering.
My favourite song on the album is ‘Style Wars.’ Finally the vocals become the lead instrument with a great guitar riff beneath. This is where the beautiful, more meditative psychedelic sound comes into its own. It’s easy to imagine this songs playing in the background during an acid trip in an indie film. Its length too, standing at an impressive 7 and a half minutes, makes it reminiscent of classic Pink Floyd.
The production of this album was obviously taken very seriously, the band locked themselves in a small studio, entirely submersing themselves in the music. The result is a tight, intense sound that is impossible to ignore. While this album is not in line with my usual interests, the musical talent of Ten Kens is unmissable.
Elaine Peppard
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