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[one_half last=”yes”]EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA
Politricks
Release-Date: 15.09.2014
Label: Sinnbus
Tracklist:
01. Honey
02. Politricks
03. Pockets Full of Holes
04. Thrasymachus
05. For The Country
06. Aleksander
07. Montreal
08. Qualia
09. Envelope
NBHAP Rating: 3,5 /5
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Countless shades
It’s nothing short of impressive how many different layers EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA found for Politricks: progressive folk-tunes reminiscent of the debut (Honey), stark dance-alongs like Politricks and Pockets Full Of Holes, unyielding acapella-criticism in For The Country, even a slight RADIOHEAD-tone in Aleksander. This is a record you should spend some time with.
Less dictating, more democratic
In an earlier interview with NBHAP, EINAR STRAY and his band talked about the benefits of taking more opinions into account whilst writing songs. Well, here’s the thing: richness is not everything. It works for the best case-scenario quite fine but it’s not a natural law that songs benefit from it. Sadly that’s exactly what keeps Politricks from being an outstanding album instead of just a really good one. It’s simply too much at times.
Too big to fail
Although there’s a bit too much going on, the EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA presents itself in a glorious way: lyrically, the work of the sole instruments or how they compliment each other. Still, the center is EINAR STRAY himself, his distinct voice and beautiful, playful, yet thoughtful mind. Should be exciting to see where these guys end up if they go on like this.
EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA’s full-length debut as a band shows a strength that’s sometimes its greatest weakness: a lack of constraint.
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