Gamma10 - Promise

I'm afraid that I'm not very impressed with this one man project from Hungary.

The opening number "Promise" doesn't seem to display much from the outset. Unfortunately it's all been done before, and far better. Everything from the standard galloping bassline to the blandest drum pattern cry out for some inspiration that never arrives. It's trying to be Hocico but failing in every possible way. If this is the first track, meant to draw us in, then I'm not feeling confident about the rest of the album at this stage.

"Tomorrow" is a trance inspired futurepop romp that's got some fun ideas being thrown around. It's enjoyable to listen to, but the beats are far too simple, and a lot would consider the synth arpeggios to be generic trance cheese. There's a real lack of any emotional gravity in the production - no risers, build-ups, breakdowns - just a flat track that warbles along pleasantly enough without engaging the listener much at all, really. And one of the biggest problems is the lack of any vocals. This brings the synthetic elements right to the forefront, and exposes them in all of their shortcomings.

"A New Beginning" has a decent enough beginning. Until the flaccid kick drum and synths kick in, relegating this number to an 'also ran'. It's pretty uninspiring stuff at this end of the album. I can't help but liken it to a trance/futurepop paint by numbers at this stage. The synths seem to be completely lacking any movement - minimal use of filters, automation, modulation. There's just very little here to engage the listener's intention. This sort of music should be aiming to really uplift the listener, not bore them.

One of the strengths of this release is the melodic content. There's some good musical ideas being thrown around here, it's just a shame that the production isn't polished enough to give those ideas enough traction. There needs to be more time spent sourcing better percussion samples and using them to drive the music to a higher level. For this type of music to stand out, it needs to hit much harder in the mix. It doesn't seem to have much conviction behind it at all.
Feb 03 2014