{"id":779,"date":"2018-10-26T18:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T18:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2018\/2018\/10\/26\/hearing-aide-animal-sounds-ennui\/"},"modified":"2018-10-26T18:00:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T18:00:41","slug":"hearing-aide-animal-sounds-ennui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2018\/2018\/10\/26\/hearing-aide-animal-sounds-ennui\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Aide: Animal Sounds ‘Ennui’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnimalHaving originally started as a funk-based instrumental group, Animal Sounds<\/a> is debuting their record\u00a0Ennui,<\/em>\u00a0that will soon define them as one of the indie powerhouse bands that call Western New York their home. The five-piece group released an all instrumental EP back in 2015 titled Fling Mingus<\/em><\/a> which had well written guitar duos and harmonically vibrant compositions that didn\u2019t get too complex, making for an easy and interesting listen. A couple years later, the band released a single titled \u201cGhost\u201d which had lyrics- marking a change in the group\u2019s direction. Composed of Erik Gordon (vocals), Shawn Brogan (guitar), Alex Brophy (guitar), Angel Figueroa (bass\/keys), and Theo Schirmuhly (drums), Animal Sounds presents a versatile and eclectic sound that doesn\u2019t veer far from their roots while also solidifying the band\u2019s progression into a vocally driven sound with intriguing instrumentals. While this new release,\u00a0Ennui<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0can take a very strong cue from the group\u2019s main influences, there\u2019s enough in this 8-track album to warrant a close look at how well the band is able to execute these sounds and create a product that oozes the stylings of some big-name alt rock\/indie groups.<\/p>\n

A major highlight of the album are the guitar performances. The clean lead duos are reminiscent of Minus the Bear, with both guitars playing melodic parts that mesh as one voice. This is apparent right from the get-go, with the second track \u201cHesitation\u201d starting off with a conversation between the two guitars, one just slightly grittier than the other so as to differentiate the voices enough. Schirmuhly\u2019s drums do a great job to accent both the bass and guitar lines. On the seventh song, \u201cWanderlust\u201d, the hi-hat accentuates beats in a way that makes different parts of the guitar line pop out, while the bass drum syncs with the bass to achieve a really big lower end without the frequencies getting muddied in the mix. The bass overall keeps a steady groove in each song, never becoming too flashy but also not becoming redundant or droney. It leaves room for the guitars to shine and will even jump in on a well composed trio part like in \u201cAntelope\u201d.<\/p>\n