With a title like that you'd be well within your rights to expect some drone-rock, shoegaze, prog experimenting or other equally exploratory sonic travelling. That's not quite the case for this Brooklyn bunch, their debut album does at points cross over into psychedelic sounds and space-rock, but for the most part it stays within the realms of the traditional indie/guitar type band. Candidate's album is an unusual one in that respect and gives the impression of having a split personality, when they do venture into psych and let the songs take care of themselves they have a natural groove that fits in well alongside contemporaries like Tame Impala and Pond, but when they hold back it's a bit disappointing.
The opening track on 'Psychic Dissonance From The Unself' is previous single 'April Again'; it's excellent, a krautrock-influenced piece of psychedelia that opens the door into their world, one you expect to be full of cosmic musical discoveries. However, as you open more doors inside their promisingly colourful land you find mixed results. Straight away second track 'Brutal' appears more normal, although it redeems itself by letting fly with some kaleidoscopic guitar for the second part. Then comes 'Even One Day You Will Be Old Fashioned' which is fighting not to become a production-line indie-rock anthem. Those guitars try to haul it back from the brink but barely manage to, the same fate befalls 'Untimely End' which is saved by a decent chorus. After just four tracks you're not quite sure who Candidate are or where they're trying to go.
From here on in 'Psychic Dissonance...' has a varying success rate. 'Low Life' embraces a more commercial sound, losing some of Candidate's magic along the way; 'A Place For My Soul' has no place here, it's engineered for radio pap, albeit with a nice enough chorus and the same goes for 'Everything For Us' and 'The Great Within': the middle of the album really drags even though it does so with melody, but it's not the excitement we were hoping for. They hint at their power here and there but never quite take the leap back outside the capsule, because of this 'Psychic Dissonance From The Unself' doesn't live up to expectations and feels more like a whimper than a bang, but we know they're capable of better. A little less introspection and a little more exploration please.
Candidate's website
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