Medicine
Home Everywhere
Reviewed by: Lara Supan
First thing’s first, do NOT listen to this album at full volume. Medicine is in a genre called “Noise Pop”, and it’s named that for a VERY good reason.
There needs to be a warning sticker on Home Everywhere specifically for those with sensitivities to high frequencies. There is so much unexpected high frequency distortion running through this album that you may very well blow an eardrum if you’re not careful. That said, it is obvious that this is a group of intelligent, envelope pushing musicians who know exactly what they’re doing and how to achieve the effects they’re after. However, the effects they’re after might have you running from the room screaming as this album is certainly not for everyone. The delightfully creative percussion and tight harmonies are definitely intriguing, but the element of “noise pop” never lets your ears fully trust what they’re trying to process, making it difficult to enjoy the album itself.
The most disturbing “noise” tracks are on the first half of the album, including “Move Along- Down the Road”, “Don’t Be Slow” and “Cold Life”. If you make it through those, the rest of Home Everywhere mellows out and bleeds into a more melodic, understandable vein of their mind bending sound. Be aware, however, that the last track does delve back into the idea of making you call sonic “uncle”. The tamest song on the album is definitely “It’s All About You”, where melody does reign and one voice is understandable and maybe even a little too quiet, not that anyone should be complaining about that.
This is a difficult one to review, because although it doesn’t seem like an album most would enjoy, this is obviously an intelligent and prolific set of tunes that deserve respect. To explore cacophony in the world of pop is a definite adventure, and will lead to the majority of folks not understanding, or not caring to understand, why on earth someone would take the time to express themselves in this manner. So, my hat is off to Medicine for this provocative album, however you could not pay me to listen to that again.
Rating: Listenable
