Aspects of Physics :: Systems Of Social Recalibration Review
2002-08-05
Sincere Brutality
http://www.sincerebrutality.com/reviews/index.shtml
The band name is clever because AOP is a pair of guys from the soothing and experimental San Diego band Physics. But what Physics was to indie rock with their guitar interweaving quiet/loud dynamic jam sessions, Aspects of Physics are to multi-media IDM performances. They came up to Portland last August and I saw them twice. The shows consisted of incredible slide projections. I think that slide and super eight projections while a band are playing has become incredibly over-used and boring. Most of the time, it feels almost as if the multi-media aspects are to cover up just how boring the band playing is. AOP's projections were appropriate, psychedelic, a hefty combination of digital and organic and fit the music extremely well.
The band has a stage full of devices for tricks up their sleeves; mostly the music revolves around simple and organically evolving beautiful electric guitar parts with the artificial intelligence of a power book created series of bleeps, bloops and audial synthesized sine waves. I make it sound so serious, but some of their songs are a lot of fun, particularly "s.id" with it's malfunctioning device bleeps and bloops creating a bit of an adult cartoon-land. Other tracks on their CD on Imputor? Records are gorgeous and lush.
Seeing them play in a venue with a good sound system is essential in order to fully absorb yourself into the paranoid acid trip of an experience it can truly be.
--James Squeaky
