ATSUKO CHIBA

From Montreal, Québec, this is the band's third full-length studio album release since 2012 and ninth including singles and EPs.

1. "Sunbath" (6:31) sounds like heavy, plodding psychedelia to me! Then, surprise! Strings take over in the third minute's "psychotic break" /interlude. Instrumental break out at 3:00 with full Mellotron support and multiple guitars strumming away with their thick, heavy, psychedelic power chords; sounds a bit like one of their big influences, THE MARS VOLTA. Great vocal shift at 5:20! Good start! (8.875/10)

2. "So Much For" (6:36)sounds very much like something from one of 2022's KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD songs--even down to the cheery hip-drug culture lyrics--but then the chorus is almost closer to the BEASTIE BOYS! But the jamming session that it turns into for the second half (with horns) returns to a KG&LW sound and style. Nice song, I just wish it were a little more organized and flowing. (8.667/10)

3. "Shook" (I'm Often) (4:44) quite dull and monotonous. Not even sure how to describe this music except insidious and repetitive. (8.33/10)

4. "Seeds" (7:45) I LOVE the droning infinity guitar throughout. And the Kevin Richard Parker (TAME IMPALA) voice and effect for singer David Palumbo. Also, the sound palette reminds me of Boston's GHOSTS OF JUPITER. By far the best and my favorite song on the album. (14.25/15)

5. "Link" (2:40) sounds like a cover of a CLASH song! Or else one of MOTORPSYCHO's. (8.5/10)

6. "Water, It Feels Like It's Growing" (7:45) interesting stylistic synthesis turns out to be most similar to heroin-filtered THE MARS VOLTA music. I do like the band's experimentalism with strings, horns, and layers of synths and effects. (13.25/15)

Total Time 36:01

B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like modern stoner rock.

This album is hazy, somewhat droney excursion. The music is often abstract and shifting, but the compositions are strong enough to give the songs identifiable and enjoyable structures. There are still plenty of driving, energetic riffs, but they're often coupled with ethereal atmospheres to make for a haunting effect. There's a sense of menace to a number of these songs, and everything gels into a cohesive whole. The album sounds like if The Mars Volta was on the more Post Rock side of Prog as well as some Swans. My only problem really that this album is somewhat short only being a bit over 30 minutes and the vocals probably have to grow on me but overall a solid release

The 1980s produced a lot of very good music. I've got a soft spot for some synthpop, and I love genres like new wave and post-punk. However, that decade, particularly its latter half, was not especially kind to progressive rock. In the current musical landscape, though, both progressive rock and post-punk are on the cultural and creative upswing. Occasionally, there is the rare nexus of both those genres' revivals. Atsuko Chiba are one such nexus.

On Trace, their second full-length release, this Quebecois quintet lean into the dark, jagged rhythms of bands like Joy Division and Wire while mixing these influences with the complexity and technicality of math rock. Ample synthesizers, inventive melodies, and nonlinear song structures add to their prog bona fides.

"A Heretic of Arrogance", the album's opener, is full of dark and moody keys. The guitars alternatingly slash, anxiously slink along, and soar with the best that post-rock has to offer. This song almost feels as if it could be the backdrop for some grim sci-fi film with its tense atmosphere and gradual build.

The two-part "Pawn to King" is a study in musical contrasts. The first half glides along at a slow tempo, with  an echoed ambiance and dispirited lyrics. Part two, though, opens with irregular, high-energy guitars in a jumpy, stuttering rhythm. Around the midway point, it becomes a punky, buzzing hard-rocker. This pair of songs is a fantastic showcase for the band's skills as both songwriters and instrumentalists.

"Dry Ice" is another highlight, featuring a jazzy, funky feeling which almost reminds me of jam bands like Aqueous or Umphrey's McGee. The song closes on an extended instrumental section which includes descending guitar and synth lines, backed with a brass section. The clear standout from this album, though, is the closing "New Folds". It's the most consistently-aggressive song on the album, with some of its most overt punk influences, and the outro very effectively builds an eerie feeling.

Not everything on this album necessarily works.  The two shortest songs on the album, "Sometimes All You Need Is" and "Hold On", feel unnecessary. I can understand the ideas behind them ? palette cleansers before longer pieces ? but they meander unimpressively. "Captain Colair" has a decent second half, but it takes a long time to get going. Much of that first half (and some of the second) feels like an unimaginative retread of a lot of post-rock.

Traces is a strong album which manages to successfully blend the sounds of progressive rock and post-punk. Flashes of math rock, psychedelic rock, and post-rock show up here and there, and Atsuko Chiba's use of texture is quite skillful.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/04/21/albums-review-atsuko-chiba-trace/

Many might rate it higher than I do. I found this album rather boring.

Sunbath is a slow start to the album. Moody and a bit dragging. Luckily, the speed picks up a bit beyond halfway. But this last a minute or so. 7/10

So much for is another slow track but with a bit more dynamics this time. But it doesn't impress me that much. 7/10

Shook (I'm often) again is a bit dragging for my taste. Nothing really special happens here for me 6.5/10

Seeds is not for my taste. It is too uneventful. Some may like this. I have other interests. 6.5/10

Link is the most vicious and therefore interesting track. But it is also by far the shortest 7.5/10

Water, It feels like it's growing drags on a bit too long for my taste. It is pleasant enough, but never does it touch me. It reminds me of the much greater work of 50 years ago. 7/10

This is an OK album, not nothing really special. 2 stars.

Adventurous, Fresh, Emotionally Evocative - a Modern Psych-Prog Triumph!

This album has been my most pleasant musical surprise of 2023 for certain and perhaps for several years. I was simply working through a list of new prog releases, specifically hitting my favorite genres. Atsuko Chiba is labeled as post-rock / math rock. Although those influences are present in the music, the band covers a very broad sonic territory that I think would best be described as modern psychedelic prog. And while other neo-psychedelic acts like King Gizzard and Tame Impala also paint with a very large palette, I find the work of those bands sometimes a bit disjointed. Not so here. There are certainly surprises - great surprises, but it all coheres into a fresh sound that maintained my interest for every moment of the short album.

My best description of the sound would be to cross post-rock with early Mars Volta (who the band cites as an influence). There are dreamy couch lock tunes (Seeds, Sunbath) and mildly chaotic, full of attitude tracks (So Much For, Link). Even during the atmospheric passages, the band brings in new, unexpected elements that continually keep the listener guessing. There are odd time signatures, plenty of different keyboard sounds, and guitar delay used in a myriad of ways. Vocals sometimes serves as an ethereal layer and other times almost rant as a lead element. Similarly, the range of emotions that this music evokes is large - including a truly frightening climax on the final title song.

At 36 minutes, the album does something no album has done for me in ages - left me wanting more. This is my #1 album of 2023 so far and will be difficult to knock from the perch.

I would recommend this album to a wide variety of audiences but for anyone who enjoy psych-prog, I rank this as the best in years.