ALBUM REVIEW: To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea – Vennart
Some musicians are just not content to stand still when success comes their way, they want to keep creating and grow upon it. Mike Vennart is one of those artists. After the demise of his underground hero outfit OCEANSIZE he landed himself the dream day job of being the live touring guitarist for global festival headlining monoliths BIFFY CLYRO, getting the chance to play to millions of fans around the globe. For many this would have been enough, but not for Vennart who needed a creative outlet of his own. Thus, we have his eponymously titled band who are gearing up to release their second full length album To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea.
As with the music created in OCEANSIZE this album begins in an atmospheric, gradual manor. The bass guitar and intricate drum beat progress underneath the soft vocal lines in a way that is not too dissimilar to the legendary alternative rock band RADIOHEAD. The lead guitars are used throughout to continue to build upon the heavily layered sound that has been such a staple with Vennart’s previous work in its various shapes and forms. Even though the song clocks in at just under the six-minute mark you cannot help but feel that it is more an introduction to what the rest of the album has to offer.
The vocal line from the beginning of Donkey Kong sounds like a nod to his current employers in BIFFY CLYRO with its use of harmonising pitches. The pace changes and picks up considerably just before the two-minute mark and is a welcome turn and presents the anthemic, sing along melody whilst still maintaining enough textures, twists and turns to still be considered a progressive rock track, including the wonderful distorted, effect laden guitar leads that are added to create an epic feel to the song in its closing moments. The following track Immortal Soldiers is pure madness. With the verses been broken up quite brilliantly with the kind of strange, psychedelic vocal harmonised sections that bands such as QUEEN, THE BEATLES and David Bowie utilised during their hay day. This further highlights the fact that this album refuses to stand still and continues to throw curveballs left, right and centre to keep the intrigue of the audience.
Further in to the album the song Spider Bones takes a turn stylistically and delivers a funk enthused bassline, complete with a matching guitar riff and stomping drum beat. Once again, the vocals are soaked in reverb effects and harmonised with guitarist Steve Durose which provides the uplifting melody that is the lifeblood of the album. The amazing thing about the guitar work from Mike Vennart himself is in the detail. The parts don’t sound overly complex in the sense that there is no shredding guitar solos or sweeping arpeggios but the chords that he can make with his hands deny physiology itself (something that he shares with his six string counterpart in BIFFY CLYRO, Simon Neil).
In the latter stages of the album the song Diamond Ballgag reveals another twist in the tale. With the wandering bass guitar riff and drum beat once again complementing the unique singing voice of Vennart before the distorted guitars kick in and give way to one of the most impressive vocal performances of the young Mancunian’s career. The riffs throughout this song are the heaviest on the entire album and show the other side to this project brilliantly with their high gain, distorted tone and shifting dynamics. The guitar solo that comes in at around the two-thirds mark has a hint of Kurt Cobain about it with its filthy, grungy sound that would sound like an utter mess to some, but a moment of genius to others and in that is the true essence of rock and roll.
To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea is an excellent release. The songs are far reaching and out of the realms of normality but with still enough sense around them to be enjoyed by all. The progressive nature of the music and constant shifts in dynamic and direction will keep the audience entertained and that cannot be understated when you consider the noticeably short attention spans of most people in the modern era of internet searches and keyboard warfare. The only downfall of this album (and it is slight at best) is that it would be brilliant to hear more of that huge guitar sound that defined Vennart‘s work with his former outfit OCEANSIZE, but then again, you can’t have it all.
Rating: 9/10
To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea is set for release on September 14th via Medium Format.
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