The Photographic "Pictures of a Changing World" (Galaxia) Sounds like: A drawn out conversation with an autistic music duo
Jamey See Tai and Chad Blevins of instrumental band the Photographic have released an ambitiously long debut album lasting 57 minutes. Their highly produced, building, drifting cannons of tugged electric guitar and clashing symbols to match are dreamily interesting - at first.
The album's satisfactory amount of repetition and the few second breaks between each track gives it a certain flow. "We Were Fed Poisoned Bread" provides a gripping bridge in which the tempo picks up and challenges the listener to tune back in, acting as a jam session within the jam: the contrasting speeds and pitches of guitar with an introduction to what might be a synthesizer provide a refreshing stretch of sound within an increasingly tried score.
"Pictures of a Changing World" certainly does not need the expected wailing of some indie boy or girl to convey the emotions of a sad headache or lonely walk, but the imagery that Jamey's brother Jesse provides at live shows is surely missed. "Night Noises," with its rough, shredding yet maintained serenity of the sea, accompanies the sounds of surfboards ripping through the waves in a preview for an upcoming surf documentary (check it out on MySpace for more details).
The album can get to be like a conversation with a self-centered friend, while the resonating guitar becomes suggestive of 311 or early Incubus - there is evidence of palpable emotion, but they've lost you in wordless rants. Without visual aid, sitting through this one was a bit of a challenge.
