The new album by The Infinity Chamber – which is the brainchild of Istanbul-based, New Zealand songwriter Dylan Paul Ware – has been brewing for a while.
An intoxicating, ambitious and artistic mix of rock, folk, grunge, metal, blues, punk and much more, we were first introduced to his work with Get Down, back in September last year, and it’s the first song featured here. It’s a spooky, sexy combination of elements with the influence of both classic rock and world music coming immediately to the fore. Like a blend of The Beatles, Nirvana and Gogol Bordello, it feels urgent, naughty, fun and unique.
Get Down is followed by Moonfrog, which is a swampy bluesy number that is again, quite obviously heavily inspired by the lineage of rock n roll that came before it. It’s also got an unmistakably cheeky British-feeling undertone to it, and the use of acoustic guitar adds an additional depth and texture that works exceptionally, as it does for the majority of the album, actually.
No Honey keeps the bluesy, folky feel going but combines it with a slight Britpop flavour, resulting in something that sounds original and fresh but still familiar. If you were to remove the vocals, it would almost remind us of a late Oasis song – something from Don’t Believe The Truth or Dig Out Your Soul, perhaps? The lyrics in the chorus – “And all my days just turn to night /
And all my dreams don’t come out right” – feel at the same time whimsical and sorrowful; this dichotomy makes the jaunty tune even more compelling.
Man Shaving takes the tone down somewhat and feels immediately darker than the songs that preceded it. There’s an element of self-effacement to the lyrical subject matter here – sacrificing one’s self for another, in the name of love – that points away from the singer of the song but is also integral to the context of the piece.
The Lonely Gnome is up next and is a slower tune centred around a simple but beautiful acoustic guitar motif and minimal arrangement. It feels a bit like it might if System Of A Down and Pink Floyd collaborated on a version of a traditional folk song.
After this down-to-earth, pared-back moment, former single Highway shoots for the moon and ends up among the stars. It’s a raucous rock n’ roll tune that’s full of pounding pedal drums, ripping lead lines, and what sounds a bit like strings in the second half (although we can’t see any listed on the credits). It chugs vigorously along like an 18-wheeler on the tarmac at night.
The melody of the following song – Sand Imaginings – feels a bit like a modernised acoustic version of Have Love Will Travel. It’s one of the oldest songs here, with traces of it on the internet dating back as long as 8 years ago. But it fits in well with the rest of the album. The choppy acoustic riff and the sweet vocal combine blissfully with understated lead guitar work and subtle percussion to make a relaxing-feeling folky number that seems somewhat at odds with the rather despondent lyrics (examples -” I got a PHD from the university of pain” and “Living on my own, own, alone / The only voice I hear is mine / As I speak with myself / As I feel my self is dying”).
The title track follows and leans into the grunge influences a bit more than the rest of the album does. The folky elements are still there – as are the sometimes tongue-in-cheek lyrics – so the resulting tune feels a bit like a blend of Dinosaur Jr and Lupen Crook.
The album concludes with an alternative mix of the song that it began with. Get Down (Forest Little Mix) begins as a gentler, more measured version of the song, but quickly morphs into a dancey disco stomper – who saw that coming?! It’s undeniably fun and is a perfectly fitting, extremely quirky way to round off this exceptionally individualistic album.
The Opposite of Everything is a sprawling psychedelic odyssey and deserves your full attention. It is available to order on demand via the wonderful people at Elastic Stage here.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
