Primitive Language Return with a Progressive New Release
- BuzzSlayers
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
A driving and experimental new album release from Primitive Language comes through with a brilliant set of tones that blend all kinds of guitar work, branching out into different directions in terms of genre and approach, along with synths and keys that add a new color and life to the record as a whole.
There's a lot about this release that feels like it was written in the late '70s. This is one of the staples the band boasts quite often, though. This release, in particular, feels a little different. There is a lot more pop sensibility attached to the bones of everything.
It feels very lush in terms of how it comes across, and the soundscape gives you a lot to chew on.
Along with the rock-infused psychedelic tonalities, you can hear elements of post-punk, funk, and loads of progressive rock influences coming through, which really helps build the atmosphere of the record.
The Gondwana album kicks things off with a song called "Ordovician", which definitely starts giving you hints of that pop overtone, but along with these brilliant guitar tones and riffs, spacious, vast-style synthesizers, and excitable drumming that gives you great grooves and deep-pocketed rhythms.
The whole thing feels like something straight out of the '80s, and I really enjoyed the blend of color and alternative underbelly that it delivers.
This is followed by a track called "Opener", which hits a lot more theatrically than the first one did. This has way more focus on those synthesizers and how experimental of a tone they give off. It features animated vocals that feel like they're in some kind of character, and because of this, the record starts to take shape in a different form.
The songs begin to feel like acts of a play. That theatrical overtone is heavy-handed, and I really got pulled into the record during this particular song. It was so outside the box, and I fed right into it.
Along with those boisterous vocal approaches, you also have effects all over those synths and keys that sort of swirl and surround you.
This is a track that definitely engulfs you and does it quickly.
Then there are songs like "Healers" that feel almost peaceful in a sense. This track has a very cinematic approach and feel to it. Loads of keys create an almost orchestral feel, drums come in with rolling toms, and the whole thing sort of breathes and feels alive.
At this point in the record, you can begin to expect the unexpected. You know the next thing you're going to hear is going to be really cool, but it's probably going to be different from everything else you've heard so far.
There are no two songs that are super alike on this release, and this keeps you on your toes, in a good way.
Tracks like this one give you a great grasp of how the drummer keeps things moving in a forward-moving flow. The drummer on this record definitely had a big concept in mind when it came to the percussion.
This worked because it brings all of those different influences together and ties everything nicely.
I feel like there are several tracks where the drummer is pulling off some really incredible stuff, and because of that energy and approach, a lot of the rest of the band push off of that.
The guitar work is also experimental and can be used in a heavier tone, giving off alternative or even grungier feels, or it can be used in a lighter, more contemporary fashion.
The title track, "Gondwana 303", feeds into that progressive element really heavily. The arrangement and performance feel live and in the room. Everything pushes forward beautifully, and the changes are outstanding.
This is a song that gives you an example of how they're able to create that sort of spacious feel that still blends the cinematic and the theatrical, while keeping the pop close at hand, and breeding an atmosphere that surrounds you and you can swim through.
"Melting" is the song that closes the record, and does an amazing job at exactly that. This is a single that keeps a lot of that experimental approach on the Forefront. It still has amazing progressions and a bit of a colorful feel, but it also gives you this fantastical essence.
This whole record gives you that element, though. This is a bit of a fantastical album. It feels like something slightly alien, but in a good way.
There's plenty of this record that is crisp, a little edgy, and also warm and welcoming.
A lot of these songs invite you to drift alongside them, and I found that comforting.
This is a great experience, especially if you listen to it all in one shot.
Some of the songs, including the ones I've mentioned already, are pretty lengthy.
"Melting" spans over 9 minutes, and others reach over 10.
This is part of why you get so engulfed in the record. These are big tracks that don't hold anything back and don't have walls built around them. They are free to do what they please, and this also builds on some of that live performance vibe I mentioned earlier.
A lot of this record puts you right in the moment with the songs, and it's not something you want to miss, especially if you like music that can accomplish that.
This is an amazing escape.
So, dive right into this one, and you'll hear exactly what I'm talking about, and try to listen to it with headphones on so you can really immerse yourself in the full range of tones and textures that it delivers.
You definitely won't be sorry.
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