Here we have the latest single from Auckland trio Imposter Syndrome, which is based strongly on a riffed acoustic guitar (the sound of which is superb, congrats whoever engineered this), with vocals over the top. Due to its nature this has plenty of space within the arrangements as even when additional instruments are added they are sparse, so the concentration is always on the voice and the guitar. Ryan Culleton’s vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Jonathan Richman with a breathy and frail voice which has a steel core. There are no drums, percussion or beat, which gives the music a certain feel but just when one feels like everything makes sense, it ends. The first time I played this I was quite surprised so checked the length which was when I realised it was only a fraction over two minutes long. Now, I am not averse to short songs (I am a massive fan of the likes of Napalm Death and Agoraphobic Nosebleed, neither of which are known for lengthy material), but here the rather abrupt ending does seem out of place.
This is the third single from the forthcoming album, Oriens, and it will be interesting to hear how the band comes across in a larger setting as while this is interesting, I found that for me there was just not enough depth and if it were longer, I am sure the ideas being presented would have had time to better develop.
Rating: 6/10
