Brian Tibbs - At The Edge

The sounds of machinery, as if you’re walking through a construction zone on a desolate planet being drilled into by alien humanoids, is what I first came across when I clicked the play button on Brian Tibbs’ new album “At The Edge”. Of course, this is on the first track titled ‘Digging’, which furthered my view into this bit of eclipse. But it failed to really go anywhere that was satisfying vocally and musically. The vocals are standard industrial affair; a gruff, gritty voice that has a digital touch to it whilst the music is an amalgamation of alarm sounds, tougher ambiance, and something that sounds like a pulse. But it always sounds like a build-up without a climax. It is very unsatisfying. 

‘Imminence’ improves as it contains more of a rhythm having a core structure that Tibbs was trying to build on ‘Digging’. However, I also feel that rhythm is a bit all over the place during the instrumental sections as Tibbs piles on a few too many samples. But even when the vocals come into play the song doesn’t improve that much. He exchanges the gruff voice for an attempt at singing, and sing he does. But poorly; it’s nothing that I can write positive things about and I’d rather not hear it again. 

Tibbs does his best on ‘Feel It’ to create what sounds like a grittier beat than what’s been seen so far, but it doesn’t really stick as to what I can chalk up to poor production. It simply doesn’t sound finished; as if it’s still in demo format. I suppose the same can be said for the previous two songs as well and the rest that appear hereafter. 

There’s nothing new to say regarding ‘All or Nothing’ and ‘Invocation’ is a pretty poor attempt at a noise / ambient track, though the piano melody that comes later in the song is decent. The final track on the EP is the most interesting on the album featuring sparkling synths that nudge my curiosity, but nothing more than that really crawls under my skin. 

I went into “At The Edge” with no expectations as this is the first time I’ve ever heard Brian Tibbs music, but this will also be the last time I dive into this specific EP. Simply put, I’m not a fan, there’s not much here for me to enjoy. Not a fan of the production, music, or the vocals. But, hey, maybe one day he’ll come back with something I can enjoy. This just isn’t it.