Brimming With Originality

1476, a duo based in Salem, Massachusetts, is an anomaly. It is truly rare to find artists with a vision so clear that they defy the boundaries that mainstream music has set. New England natives Robb Kavjian and Neil DeRosa have put together a work that can only be understood by experiencing it oneself. Attempts to describe the album as a post-rock gumbo of all sorts of genres will never do the art itself justice.

It really is refreshing to be endlessly engaged with a record the way In Exile entices listeners to be. One thing that this work certainly is not is stale, it never even comes close to becoming predictable. The duo seamlessly blends different realms of the music world to create an experience that is unlike any other, meeting the needs of fans spanning countless genres and walks of music.

Just as listeners are getting used to the galloping metal roar of “Lost In Exile,” they’re met with the shanty-like strumming of the mandolin on tracks like “Tristesse in Exile,” varying widely from track to track in a slew of departments. Kavjian’s vocals have their melodic moments, priming the guitar riffs and licks to follow, but the deep and dark melodies occasionally give way to spurts of metal growls, whether it be in the foreground on tracks like “Lost In Exile” or mixed behind the melody, like on “When Comes the Dawn?”

Between the two partners, every instrument is covered with an excess of talent and every instrument is no overstatement. Rock, metal and punk elements are present first and foremost, but are always partnered and enhanced by a multitude of instruments that rarely see the light of day in genres like this. Soaring strings, plunky mandolin, a very prominent hurdy-gurdy and plenty of well mixed synths create borderline cinematic atmospheres throughout the album’s hour-long runtime. The guitars, especially the acoustic guitars, that are featured very frequently on the album are tasteful and blend well together when there are multiple melodies at once, like on the intro to “Beyond The Meadows, Beyond The Moors” and the closing track “Where are You?” Instead of ripping electric guitar solos, nylon strings are substituted and make several very welcomed appearances during tracks like “Where Kings Fall.”

Just as spectacularly, the drumming on this album done by DeRosa is incredibly effective and well placed on the tracks. The grooves that are established never overstay their welcome or outshine the other important parts of the mix as a whole. Just like every other aspect of the album, the drumming patterns and time signatures vary quite a bit as well, ranging from up-tempo speed metal grooves to simple patterns on mostly just toms, masterfully filling out the background.

With all of these elements in tandem, what is derived is an experience unlike any other, not to be kept secret for lovers of one genre or another, but one that has the potential to reach so many branches of music’s ever-growing tree of life.