Aleixa: Girl-goth meets techno
Written: Jan 22 '03 (Updated Jan 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Killer blend of electronica and heavy guitars; lyrics that explore faith's darker side.
Cons: Some screaming and a few lyrics that might offend conservative Christians.
The Bottom Line: Aleixa is a bit of an acquired taste, but it's worth looking into if you like industrial or electronic rock songs written from a Christian perspective.
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| divad23's Full Review: Disfigured - Aleixa Movies |
Author's Note: This is a re-publish of an old review that I had placed in the "Up and Coming Rock Music" category. Thanks to our hard-working Category Managers, I can now place it where it belongs!
Here's another interesting album that I nearly overlooked: Aleixa's Disfigured. During Aleixa's short tenure as a band, they were signed to a tiny label called Bulletproof music, which usually caters to under the radar punk/hardcore Christian rock bands. I had heard a few of their songs on a local Christian rock show that tended to play some rather out of the way, off-the-wall music from time to time, which was great exposure for the bands, but usually resulted in a rather mixed bag that was hard to listen to for more than about an hour. I think I initially passed over Aleixa because I figured they had a couple nice radio-playable singles, and the rest were either too weird, too repetitive, or simply not lyrical enough for the radio (as can often happen with more adventurous industrial techno-style music). A few months later, I rescued their CD off of the bargain rack at the local Christian bookstore (the few copies they had probably got sold, leaving the "sampler for listening" without much of a purpose), figuring it had to at least have one or two more enjoyable songs. Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise.
Familiar
When I got home, put the disc in, and the low-end electronic whirring of the first track started up, I first thought that perhaps I hadn't made such a wide decision. It seemed like a fairly catchy, slightly creepy electronic style, but the song only had one whispered lyric - "If you know me, you know what's coming" - over and over. It reminded me of something you might hear after being at a rave for about three days and you didn't care about much other than the beat. In all fairness, I now see it for what it was meant to be - an intro to an album filled with intriguing electronic rock songs and challenging lyrics. But it does run almost six minutes long, which can try my patience sometimes. I do like Laurel Snapper's wordless wailing toward the end.
Purge
This one creeps in next as the first track fades out, with a very dark and frenetic mood to it (imagine Skillet meets Nine Inch Nails with a female lead singer and you've got the idea). Here the guitars are more prominent, just so you know they're not a simple techno band. It's a rather haunting song about trying to rid oneself of the memories of past mistakes (perhaps a relationship gone bad), complete with some electronically generated voices in the middle that are reminiscent of something on a Marilyn Manson record I was once forced to listen to. They pull it off quite well, keeping a definite goth edge while not being too hard or scary, and very danceable throughout the entire song. One of my favorite lines comes near the end - "It's sick, yeah, I know I'm sick/It's sin, yeah, I know I'm sin."
Black + Blue
The third track is more midtempo, bringing to mind Nine Inch Nails' infamous "Closer" in its musical attitude at first, but bringing in a dominant rhythm guitar after the initial whispered verses. This song deals with self-image, how we beat ourselves up and think that everyone else has it better than we do, and their lives are more interesting than ours. Laurel, who splits most of the lyrical chores about half-and-half with guitarist Kevin 131, throws out some interesting lines here, such as the whispered "You're black, I'm blue, I'm sad and shy", and later, "If you weren't my friend you'd be my slave", ensuring that I never quite figure out the exact meaning of the song. An especially pleasant surprise comes about midway through where some lively horns chime in, and you're left thinking, "Who the heck invited the Tonight Show band into the studio?" It's similar to the end of "The National Anthem" by Radiohead, but a little less disorganized.
Await
Built like a traditional techno song, this track constructs itself piece by piece until finally all of the elements are present and the lyrics are ready to be added into the mix, but the guitars ride along the top with razor-sharp precision, just to let you know there's a real instrument in the mix. The lyrics in this one depict great anticipation, as if Laurel is on the edge, wanting to believe in God but afraid that she will be let down, and procrastinating so she won't have to make the decision, but realizing she doesn't have much "time to kill". This should have been a radio single - perhaps I just never caught it on the radio.
Only Roses
This track is, in a word, weird. I'm not sure whether to consider it a full song on its own (it only has a chorus and one verse) or just an interlude. The melody to it is very non-pop, sounding almost tortured. It's definitely violent in its nature - Laurel is singing about a bouquet of roses that she received from a former lover, and wanting them to stay alive while simultaneously having the urge to kill them. She describes the ways in which she'd like to tear them apart - it's a little frightening. Good thing they're only plants!
I'm So Scared
Following up with a more traditional pace for a techno song, this one posesses a very haunting, memorable melody. It's an epic track - nearly seven minutes long - and it addresses either a current lover or someone whom Laurel finds very attractive but fears him never noticing her. Anyone who has ever been in an unstable relationship can probably relate to this song and its theme of being frightened that the person will never feel the same way that you feel about them. Still, there is a very redemptive undercurrent to this song as she whispers "hush, hush" during some of the instrumental breaks, as if trying to remind herself that the situation is in God's hands and she won't be left lonely. It's definitely one of the standout cuts on the album, with its ghostly vocals and killer guitar breaks.
Pacify Me
This one honestly disturbed me at first, then later went on to become one of my favorites. It's pretty fast and furious, even for this album (which never really slows down), and here we get more of a glimpse into Kevin's mind rather than Laurel's (he wrote most of the song, and he whispers most of the verses). What especially bothered me at first is that Laurel screams a few of the verses. At first, I just wasn't prepared for that, but then I listened to it again when I was really pumped up and aggravated, and it was a wonderful release. Some might think that this level of anger doesn't belong on a Christian album - this is why it fits so perfectly, because the song deals with judgmental Christians trying to tell the members of the band how they should act and what they should write about (apparently they caught some flak for some fairly controversial themes on their last album). It's as if Kevin is replying to those people, saying, "I'm only human, and I sin, and I'm gonna be honest about that, and I can't handle you trying to put words in God's mouth to tell me what I should and shouldn't do." Listen with an open mind - it's an excellent song.
Ultradramatic
Returning to a more comfortable tempo and and almost poppy tune, this is probably the most "singable" song on the record (big surprise that this is the other one I heard on the radio), having a chorus that will remain in your head for hours. It is very evangelistic in its tone, reaching out to a troubled friend who is desperate for a way out but is getting nowhere, explaining that "My life was covered in beige and grey/Until I stopped to meet Jesus." It really takes a bold stance, as if to say "You may think I'm being overly emotional, but I cannot keep silent about the truth I've found." Thankfully, it does a much better job of communicating this artfully than a lot of songs that have come out some of the better-known Christian bands. I can't quite figure out the reason for Laurel's heavy breathing in the middle of this song, other than to ensure that the song still has its dark and creepy element.
My Bed with Tears
This song might sound like it has a depressing title, but be careful before you judge - it's taken directly from a Psalm where David laments that his couch is soaked with tears due to the difficult situation he's going through. Intertwined in this song are a few lines from the well-known nursery rhyme "Hush little baby, don't you cry", that seem cheesy at first, until you realize it's God's voice speaking to Laurel, assuring her that there is nothing to worry about, being a perfect gentleman even when she has been a fickle lover and turned Him away. The song does a great job of tying together the themes from "Await" and "I'm So Scared", portraying faith as a romantic relationship that Laurel realizes she has majorly screwed up, and yet God is still there serenading her, offering her the world.
Disfigured
The title track kicks in next with its odd rhythm (a very non-techno 7/8), hardly allowing for any breathing space after the ending of "My Bed with Tears". Here we have another odd song, starting off with a pounding drum cadence that disappears into silence and then attacks again, joined by some robotic chanting from the band's frontwomen. Again, we have a very anti-pop melody at work here, creating a dark but memorable song. This takes the metaphor of messed-up humanity, drawing a parallel to Christ's broken body, but taking it a step further, beyond the familiar idea of brokenness into the less comfortable idea of disfiguration. This makes the shifting time signature work perfectly - the song itself is deformed. It will cement in your mind the idea that Aleixa is more than a techno band. I don't quite understand the ending of the song - the voices and instruments fade away and an electric whirring takes over, obliterating everything, as if someone came in and massacred the band with a leaf-blower!
The Reflex
Here's a tune you might recognize if you listened to a lot of music in the 80's - it was originally performed by Duran Duran. I'm not sure what this song has to do with the theme of the album, and the music takes on a more rubbery, typical techno feel, but it's definitely a lot of fun to hear an 80's rock song reworked as late 90's electronica. I couldn't figure out much of the meaning of the original, and this doesn't really shed any new light on it, but I have to say, they've done a great job on this cover, complete with one last ripping guitar solo from Kevin to shake things up a bit in the middle.
Await (Dreamride Remix)
The album ends with a reinterpretation of "Await" by the techno band Deepsky (whom I don't know much about, other than the "Power Cosmic" remix they contributed to a recent Echoing Green album). Its sound is way more traditional techno than the original, but it stays interesting with its use of weird synths and breakbeats. My major complaint about this remix is that it is a bit repetitive, and they cut out the chorus altogether (usually remixes like this are nothing but the chorus!), but I still enjoy listening to it. The echoing "joyride"s are a nice touch.
Add to that an amusing but inexplicable bonus track stolen directly from Sesame Street, and you've got yourself a remarkably solid work of electronic rock, that I would definitely recommend for fans of some of the moodier material put out by bands like The Echoing Green (whom Kevin used to play guitar for), Massivivid, or even Code of Ethics in the Christian realm. In the realm of "secular" music, Nine Inch Nails and Garbage ain't bad comparisons, if you take an average between the two and add some 80's influence here and there. In any case, it's worth checking out if you like electronic music with a little bite, and you don't mind having to chew over the songs a few times to get used to them and understand them.
ALBUM WORTH:
Familiar $1
Purge $1.50
Black + Blue $2
Await $1.50
Only Roses $1
I'm So Scared $2
Pacify Me $2
Ultradramatic $1.50
My Bed with Tears $1
Disfigured $2
The Reflex $2
Await (Dreamride Remix) $.50
Outtake $.50
TOTAL: $18.50
Band Members:
Laurel Snapper: Lead Vocals
Kevin 131: Guitars, Vocals, Programming
Stephanie Pummill: Vocals
Timothy Guiterrez: Extra guitars and programming
Website: The band used to have a site at http://www.aleixa.com, but since their breakup, the domain has been bought out for less reputable purposes. I haven't found another official site for them or their defunct label.
Recommended:
Yes
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divad23
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Member: David Martin
Location: Pasadena, CA
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Just add an implicit "in my humble opinion" to every sentence I write.
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