Everybody In Together Now?
After launching a series of EPs out into the world over the last two years, Vancouver’s Teen Daze releases their debut album, All of Us, Together. The 9 track LP is, according to Teen Daze, inspired by an encyclopedia of what a utopian society might look like, titled Utopian Visions. Whether or not Teen Daze will find his utopian success with this first full album, it’s yet to be seen.
Arpeggiated keys and the hissing of steam fill the air on “Treten.” Soon, the slow half beat is doubled in a wave of analogue synthesizers and drumming, which later fades into a melodic plateau of granular beeps and boops. The entire song is 6:41 and appropriately sets the stage for the rest of the album. The analogue soundtrack continues on “Late,” which is likened to a eulogy lamenting the loss of the Super Nintendo. The inaudible, chanting hymns on “The Future” come on unexpected and compliment the synthesizers so well that it makes one wonder where they are on the rest of the album. All of Us, Together continues on with stretching, spacey, and emotional pieces which straddle the line between trance and chiptune with its feet firmly rooted in deep, experimental ambience.
The lyricless, beats on All of Us, Together, manage to sound both futuristic and nostalgic with Teen Daze’s selection of electronic sounds. While the imagery it conveys is indeed suggestive of an auditory utopia, individual songs do not vary widely enough to convey a degree of innovation. While esoteric, upbeat, and fun, 90% of this album sounds like it belongs in a Final Fantasy video game. Which is only awesome if you are really into Final Fantasy video games. For those who do not dig electronic ambient, you are not one of the All of Us, Together.
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