Alone craft sultry aggressive music full of color and feeling as the band cycles through styles similar to acts like Drain STH and Static-X with some funk thrown in for good measure. Thick basslines pave the way for the careening female vocals and steady drumbeats that are fueled by scratchy riffs and progressive song structures.
Vocally, band frontwoman Rinat sounds like a cross between Human Waste Project and Veruca Salt as her words are crooned out with an honest intensity and fiery anger that dwells in a seductive innocence before breaking seamlessly into restrained yells of rage. Guitarwork is talented and swift as it grinds out focused riffs that are accentuated with the occasional squealing solo and Korn like experimentation that comes fortified with distorted chords that chug forward with mechanical precision. Some wah pedal is used to add finesse and goes a long way in the end to stretching the bands horizons. Bass is a bit downtuned and growls with percussive hits that thicken the music with drawn out notes and bouncy riffs that syncopate keenly with the other instruments. Drums are precise and can at times sound programmed as they utilize ample pauses and consistent beats that focus on repetition that is filled with crisp highhat work all the while closely following the guitar, creating a solid meshing of sound.
The bands music is quite sly, filled with a lot of nuances and textures including sparse vocal effects, some samples and even some instrumental buildup that comes courtesy of the guitar which as a whole manages to cast a slightly electronic sounding shadow. Vocal range is put to the test with a very open minded approach taken and it seems as though having only three members in the group has made them work all the more closely to coalesce their contributions into a dense package of musical expression. Perhaps the bands strongest trait is the confidence they possess as the experience and familiarity they have with each other shows up loud and clear, while the band cuts through the disc's two tracks making sure nothing is wasted. Unfortunately its a bit hard to gauge where the band is going or just exactly what they are trying to do with only two songs being included and from a general overview, the tracks could use some polishing in the area of general diversity, but are by no means one dimensional. Alone's music is electronically flavored with a new metal edge that has enough bite to hook into fans of heavier music while still possessing enough grace and intelligence to create an engrossing listen. In a world where female fronted acts can sell records on sex appeal and image alone, it's a treat to see a group come along with the ability to back it up musically, and as such it probably won't be long before Alone finds the company of a major label.
(4 / 5)
