Message received: Auditory Message present first EP

German version: https://shieldmaidensvoice.com/2019/11/01/message-received-auditory-message-prasentieren-erste-ep/

Not every new discovery is worth a closer look or even a review, especially when the band is very young and probably inexperienced. But life has a funny way and thus I was once again taught better.

On a Friday approximately three weeks ago I got a message telling me to check out a video a young band had just put out accompanying their first single. I did not expect much but I have seldomly been so wrong.

I am talking about Auditory Message. The four young guys from Tirol in Austria are between

16 and 18 years of age and prove impressively that professionality knows no age. Since they are putting out their first ever EP tomorrow on the 2nd of November, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at what they are presenting to us.

The EP is named Reach for More and consists of five different and interesting songs at which we will take a closer look in a second. Musically, we are in the realms of alternative rock, a genre that the four young guys pursue in a very cohesive and consequent way.

One of the first Songs Auditory Message played together in the beginning of their musical journey was Wheels by the Foo Fighters, which is still part of their setlist. Keeping this information in mind, I was not very surprised that they put out just this EP, since you can clearly hear this influence mixed with other genres, which makes it very diversified.

Another special thing I noticed about this band is that, with the exception of the drummer, all the members are involved in the vocals which gives more changeability to the vocals.

But enough of the pretext, let’s have a look at the EP:

Reach for More

The first song, and namesake of the EP itself, can be seen as some sort of introduction of the band to the listener. The light improvisations are very appealing. In the beginning, there are some bass-notes which are then joined by drums and light guitars. The song has something aerial and puristic, the band does not need a lot of gadgets here and found a very good way of giving the listener a first insight into their ability. In the end there are some whispered words, which I don’t necessarily need since they flatten the song a little bit. I also feel like the song could have been a little bit longer!

The Last Rockstar

A lot of bands use what I call the „Thirst-quenching-Aaahhhh“. Here it’s quite effectfully placed at the beginning of the song and even though it doesn’t really serve any purpose, it’s quite something! The song itself is characterized by a more rock-related melody-stream, that somehow reminds me of a mixture of the White Stripes and Nirvana. Something really commendable is the virtuos guitar that makes its coherent way through the song. The vocals are more spoken word that become more melodious in the chorus, but it is very well complimented towards the overall picture the song gives.

Eternity

The song itself convinces with its expressive and variable play of the involved instruments, which the artists definitely know how to play, even though there still is room for improvement. In the song the change of singers gives the listener a little caesura in regards to the pace of the song, which is perfectly underlined by the serene winter scenery in the video. The band is then able to pick up the pace again and accelerate it. This is even more admirable since this is quite the difficult move to pull off. The transitions between these individual „moods“ are very well woven together.

Even though the voices are a bit thin still for my liking, I prefer the voices to be a bit more pressed, the listener can tell that there are talents awaiting to be emerging, which they will with enough coaching and progressing age.

Please also have a look at the video! 

Wrong Personality

Now on to the song that has become my personal favourite of this EP.

If you ask me, Bass-Solo-Intros are oftentimes underestimated stylistic devices, even more so when they are well done and implemented into the on-going song, as it is the case here.

The slightly distorted vocals fits amazingly well into the cool and detached feeling of the song und the band reaches a perfect combination of their instruments in this song. Especially cool is the drop at the beginning of the chorus with the words „Son, you’ve got the wrong personality“. In this song the band supersedes their real age by far!

All the People

At the end of the EP, Auditory Message shows, that they are able to sound very light while not giving up completely on their rocksound. Speaking from a mood perspective, I feel reminded of John Lennon and Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits.

Very well done, in my opinion, is the ending of the song where we just hear the pure vocals, without any instruments, that end in some high notes.

To draw a conclusion, Auditory Message are presenting us with an EP, that is more that well done for a first publication. They convince with a changeability that also stays true to the band’s stylistic aesthetic. In addition, it is very well produced, which is the doing of mentor and band coach Fabio D’Amore (Serenity), „without whom Reach for More“ wouldn’t have been possible as the band commented.

Auditory Message are:

Lorenz Polak (Bass/Vocals)

Marius Haid (Drums)

Simon Lerchbaumer (Guitar/Vocals)

Jakob Ruetz (Guitar/Vocals)