ALLOMERUS

A duo from Melbourne, Australia, that decided to produce its own music in 2012.Allomerus consist of John Wegner on guitar/synthesizers/bass/vocals and Paul Wegner on drums/percussion, while they also use a variety of sampled instruments and sound effects in their music.Their self-titled debut album was digitally released in July 2012 via bandcamp.

Allomerus is a talented duo.They just seem not very keen on creating striking and well-crafted compositions, while the mass of different styles met in their debut does not make it very consistent either.Technically they are very competent with some impressive guitar workouts along the KING CRIMSON path and interesting keyboard passages, somehat close to the sound of STEAM THEORY or RESISTOR.There are long instrumental textures with the electric guitars in evidence and featuring some sudden breaks and powerful grooves, but the problem comes from the unrelated styles chosen.A Psychedelic Rock ballad is followed by an edgy Heavy Prog piece, the longer track of the album ''Air conditioned cages'' blends 70's Psych/Symphonic Rock with decent keyboards with calm New Age and naughty Horn Rock, led by trumpets, that as a whole sound much less than conveincing, while the vocals of John Wegner are a matter of taste as well, sounding to me rather souless, without any particular color.The biggest surprise though comes from the closing ''It is coming'', showing the duo in its full potential.Dark and dramatic instrumental Prog with doomy electric guitars, angular Electronics with a touch of Mellotron and excellent electrified moves after the middle that lead to another haunting and memorable closing rhythmic part.

I guess this duo should maintain the styles met in the opening and closing tracks.Modern Prog with KING CRIMSON vibes and heavy, instrumental textures.The rest of the album is inconsistent, a bit uninspired and rather untight, though the technical level leaves some great promises.Not exactly recommended, this should be a decent addition for fans of diverse Progressive Rock, but note that the compositions are rather average...2.5 stars.

Allomerus is a neotropical genus of small ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Allomerus is also a duo of musicians from Australia consisting of John Wegner on guitars, synths, bass, and vocals and Paul Wegner on drums and percussions. John and Paul are clearly not neotropical, nor are they ants (check their website, they're humans).

They released this, their self-titled debut, back in 2012 on Bandcamp onto an unsuspecting public which I think is still in a state of not knowing either of the Allomerus' mentioned above. John and Paul make some unusual "homemade" music that mixes traditional instruments with modern technology like iPad synths and electronic drums. I'm at a loss on who their influences might be as not a lot of comparables is registering while I listen to this debut. There is a sense of King Crimson in some of the guitar work, but compositionally, these guys are kind of unique. There are a lot of different styles being used throughout the album, even some brass rock in places. Some transition nicely, others seem to hit each other like a bunch of slammed doors.

I can't say this is for certain, but this album shows (at least to me) some evidence of a learning curve from the beginning to the end. The sound of the album and the compositions seem to improve as one goes forward. In some of the earlier tracks, it almost seems like there are timing problems present, like the instruments are out of sync with each other. At times it seems as if there are "artifacts" in the recordings of the hi-hats and cymbals; they don't seem smooth like they either weren't recorded correctly or were modified electronically. But like I said, the album does get better as you move forward.

I'm at a loss on how to grade this. It started off seeming like only friends of these guys (or some ant colonies somewhere in South America) would be interested in it and then it seemed like folks interested in experimental "homemade" recordings would like it. I'm going to generously give it a three star rating. It was weird enough to catch my attention, and that's a good thing. Is it essential? Nah, but if you're looking for oddball stuff you might get a kick or two out of this.