obsex'd

Alvin Band is a testament of true, unadulterated stream-of-consciousness musical exploration and 21-year old Southern California based Rick Alvin Schaier servers as its master. Mantis Preying, the first official release by Alvin Band consists of songs that only rely on body parts and vocal gymnastics to create an unbelievable atmospheric and avant-garde sound similar to that of [current] Animal Collective and of Montreal. The songs on Mantis Preying feature dense, layered, complicated arrangements that somehow weave a central melody and structure throughout the cacophony of ideas. This complex blend of rhythms and harmonies cannot seemingly come from one voice and one microphone. Though recorded under the constraints of "vocals only," it projects a sum much larger than it's parts, making use of the full sonic spectrum.

I highly highly highly highly highly recommend EVERYONE to click on the hyperlink and to listen to Mantis Preying. At first (as I wrote a few posts down), I thought he was simply ripping off of AnCo's style, but after much research, I'm beginning to think Rick far surpasses AnCo. The fact that 9 of the 15 songs on the album are made with only vocal reverberations and the use of body parts astounds me, and if you give his album a listen, you too will be surprised. The album is a huge wall of sound that slaps you across the face, and you can't help but want more. It's like a nasty drug that hits you hard. I can't believe he isn't huge yet...it's only a matter of time.