White Noise Sound - Like A Pyramid Of Fire
- Written by Kenneth McMurtrie
It's taken the Welsh sextet four years to follow up their self-titled debut album so has the wait been worth it?
Given the quality of many releases in the same vein that have come out in just the last few months, let alone elsewhere in that four year period, on first starting Like A Pyramid Of Fire off you'd have to say no. Opener 'Heavy Echo' is not in the least heavy & lacks any significant echo. In fact it's unfortunately pretty straight. By the time third track 'All You Need' started I had to dig out WNS just to see if I'd a false memory of them being an exciting and vital new arrival back when that came out.
Sure enough the JAMC-like power & sneer of that album's 'Sunset' immediately grabs ahold & refuses to let go. Overall that album has a lot of balls, even on the slower, trippier tracks. Maybe then it's just the production that's letting things down this time around ...
As 'All You Need' progresses hints of the earlier work are noticeable as the sound swirls around from the middle onwards but it's just nowhere near as convincing as that raw debut. Rather than seeing themselves as a garage psych group as they previously seem to have, the intention on Like A Pyramid Of Fire appears to have been to become the offspring of The Orb and Talk Talk. That's a bad marriage of convenience and the child is stillborn.
Whilst 'Red Light' allows the troops to rally and attempt a counter attack for all the overdrive and extended guitar work it's still a bit of a plodder, a fact better production would still probably be unable to hide. Rather than a pyramid of fire what the band need is a pillar of smoke in which to wander off into the desert and seriously consider their next move.
