Pagoda – Self-Titled

Most band names normally fit the sound of a band. This means that whenever you hear a new band name, for the most part, you can get a general idea of what they’ll sound like. Of course this isn’t always the case, but normally the name of a band can give the listener a rather clear idea of what they can expect going into the album. So it’s always weird when you get a band name and have no idea what to expect;Pagoda is one of those names. A very odd sounding name that, for most people, carries no real connotation along with it. It’s hard to picture, hard to describe and hard to imagine; and in a way, Pagoda sounds just like that.

The band’s debut self-titled effort is a very weird but oddly satisfying release. They rely heavily on the feel of spontaneity as most of the songs are created with a serious lack of structure; but this lack of structure and simulated spontaneity somehow works quite nicely. The songs are always very bare and sparse as they use the bare minimum to get the point across – mainly a sole guitar, harsh vocals and a violin in the background. Occasionally they add more, with more prominent drumming, soundbytes and numerous sets of vocals; but they tend to normally keep it more low-key than that. Vocally, indie actor Michael Pitt does a good job in his rough delivery. For half of the release you get the sense that he’s trying to recreate the high points of Dexter Holland’s voice. But as the album progresses he moves into his own feet and starts to create his own identity instead of following the lead of The Offspring‘s front man. And unlike the spontaneity of bands like The Fall Of Troy or The Mars Volta, Pagoda aren’t overly artsy and arrogant. They arne ‘t showing off and saying “look at all the crazy things I can do with my instrument” but rather just using the instrument to the best of their ability without overly exhausting them.

The sound can be somewhat abrupt, with a feel of “what you see is what you get” throughout most of it since there’s not many layers padding the sound. Instead it follows a seemingly random flow of momentum as it continually rises and falls in intensity. This rise and fall is apparent in both the overall structure of the album and within the songs themselves. Fetus starts off with a single chord repeated constantly over spoken vocals that continually increase in intensity before it collapses in on itself and breaks out completely only to fall back into the same chord just played harder and the vocals coming with a bit more drive behind them.

Despite that this sense of spontaneity and randomness is one of the first elements that really attracts the listener to the album; it does starts to lose it’s charm once you get deeper into the album. Particularly on the 14-minute closer, I Do which sees the band almost falling apart completely with soundbytes and loud, distorted guitar bits. It doesn’t fit the album, and certainly doesn’t close it off well; particular since the album is already losing its charm by the time they get there.

Pagoda is a solid album, it has a hollow feel to it while still being able to make it a full sound. Sadly though, instead of growing on you, the album starts to go downhill the more you listen to it. The first time I heard it, I loved it; but the more and more I listen to it, the less entertaining it becomes.