THE MODERATE PICTURE

The Moderate Picture is an album of fierce grunge-inspired electronic music. I say grunge inspired because of the direct aggression and huge amount of distorted fuzz present through most of this album. Even as the album opens with "Guitar Radio" you're treated with an all-consuming wall of distortion very similar to what would be expected from Maurizio Bianchi but with a distant ethereal element that might make it more palatable.

Many of the songs on The Moderate Picture are a bit more relaxed, such as "Drunkards & Soul", a bass-led tipsy melody enhanced by huge reverb, but one of the most interesting tracks in my opinion is "260" which starts out rather heavy and grungy but becomes a spiritual echo-laden psych-rock session. "Saturation Point" has a typical sluggish post-rock flow but is saved middle Eastern instrumentation, something that this Pakistani duo doesn't explore enough, in my opinion.

Though it may sound a bit silly, I personally think the few instrumental electro-pop tracks are the most satisfying. "Meat Freestyle" is a mid-paced electro indie rock song with steady percussion and piercing synths that sound like a cross between Pinback and Shigeto, which is also the case with "Celeplode". Also worth mentioning, "Pretty" sounds quite like a sample from an Infected Mushroom track, but becomes a bit overly repetitive by the time it ends, which is a bit unfortunate considering it's only just under 3 and half minutes.

By this time I've come to realize that each of 6LA8's album are different in tone while maintaining the same style, which is kind of interesting. The Moderate Picture is by far their heaviest and rawest album, so anyone who has wanted to check out this group but can't stand the stagnant sounds of ambient post-rock, this is the perfect introduction.