Hello, Avalanche, the latest album from The Octopus Project, is proof that you don’t need lyrics to communicate. The Octopus Project is an Austin, Texas based instrumental band that uses a wide variety of instruments, including the exceptionally rare theremin, to communicate in their own unique way.
The theremin is a completely electronic instrument, invented in the early 20th century. By a method that is difficult to understand, it produces an eerie, almost human sound that can be controlled by how close the performer’s hands are to two antennae.
The album begins slowly and calmly, introducing layered tracks of theremin over a simple xylophone melody. The first track, “Snow Tip Cap Mountain,” shows amazing confidence in the ability of the theremin to communicate much more than just pitch. This track slows you down and grabs your attention, only to segue into the second track, “Truck,” an energetic weave of keyboard, guitars and drums.
The contrast between these first two songs previews the album’s range. The album continues to build, using synthesizers, drum machines, keyboards, samples and loops, as well as actual drums, guitars and the theremin. The Octopus Project do an amazing job at blending diverse instruments into cohesive, unique songs without falling into any of the structural traps into which lyric-based music tends to fall.
The album peaks at the eighth track, “I Saw the Bright Shinies.” This track features just enough keyboard and drum machine to allow the layered theremin tracks to capture all of the emotions that lyrics could never express. The album takes a darker turn during “Ghost Moves,” but again, the contrast between the ethereal “Bright Shinies” and the aggressive, rock-based “Ghost Moves” only shows the bands amazing range.
Maybe the greatest testament to the talent of this band is the last song, “Queen.” When the only vocals on the entire album start, they sound like the most natural thing to hear. It is as if these masters of blending unique instruments simply decided they would use vocals as instrumentation on their last track. And it could not fit more perfectly.
On Hello, Avalanche, it felt like the band was using this album to play listener’s emotions the same way you would play the theremin. In the same way that minute hand motions manipulate the tonal quality of the theremin, the subtle changes in the volume, tempo and instrumentation controlled my emotions and imagination in a way that few other albums ever had. I felt like my mood was being decided at the whim of my headphones.
This album proves that you don’t have to have lyrics to communicate clearly. The masterful weaving of diverse sounds produces an experience rarely matched in music today.
