Finally got my hands on the new Adam’s Castle LP, Vices. If you don’t know who they are, the story goes something like this… The band started in Michigan in 1999 which led to two full lengths, two EPs and cross country tours. They called it quits in 2004, citing an “unclear pre-nup”, as reason, but lo and behold a few years later they meet up in Brooklyn and started jamming again.
The new Adam’s Castle is the same as the old, an instrumental trio consisting of piano, bass and drums, but added some new mebers like a decked out Rhodes, E.T. samples, loop pedals and other mind-altering effects that give the tracks this big cosmic feeling.
Vices is definitely a self interpreted journey through whatever is going on in your mind. It’s pretty clear thats the case when listening to the 1st minute and a half of the album’s lead track “Angel Dust. The ambient drones with melodic, minor piano melodies leads up to this this wicked bass that explodes into the start of your journey. From there you have these soaring “guitar” melodies, grooving drums and cool sound fx that take you through the sonic worlds Adam’s Castle created on the album.
While the bass and drums lock the groove in tight, the piano/”guitar” work on the album really takes off. You have these melodies, progressions and arpeggios that remind me a lot of classical music, but with a slight jazz twist to to it. You actually get lost in the sonata-like melodies on the album.
My favorite track on the album was “VLM.” The intro reminded me of Floyd, but then it broke down into this downtempo, laid back track with hazy piano melodies only to build up to this epic sound that you could call a modern day power ballad. Some other highlights on the LP include “Angel Dust,” “Bender,” “TKO” and “Your Fucking the Best”
I’d say take this album out for a spin a few times while you are out and about during your day, you may just find yourself coming back to it. Vices can be picked up through their Bandcamp page as well as any fine digital retailers.
enjoY!
P.S. if you are in NYC this week, make sure to stop by Mercury Lounge on Thursday to check out their show with Monuments. Go here for more details.
VLM by Adam’s Castle
