CD Review: Sensual Predator

REVIEW BY CHRIS GUNNELLS

            Dreams can be made up of horror, pain, happiness, memories, and the occasional forgetful moments.  Those are all things that I hear resonating from the sounds of Sensual Predator’s first of two album/e.p. releases so far this year.  Fans of Nine Inch Nails/ Trent Reznor, Daft Punk, and even Radiohead and the mind of Thom Yorke will all enjoy this as it seems to strive to be a mixture of the three.

1)      Play The Field- The album opens with a subtle introduction almost leading you into the battlefield of the dream about to take place over the next 6 songs.

2)      Distant Trumpets- After the introduction to the album we are instantly placed into a trance with the sound of trumpets.  Are the trumpets a way to signify a battle between two entities nearing confrontation?  Try to picture Don Quixote being placed into modern day New York City…that is the picture I saw on first listen.

3)      Sat Oct 17^th– The guitar sound and the voices in the background mixing and interweaving with other sounds makes this a good listen.  The pick-up in tempo at the 3:14 mark that extends through the ending of the song leaves you wondering where the dream will take you next.

4)      Semiautomatic- On first listen the only notes I had for this song was the word genius in all caps.  Now, genius may be a bit of a stretch but, regardless, I was stunned.  A song that takes this album and, what I consider a dream concept, in a totally new direction.  Daft Punk would be proud of this well-composed electronica track.  At 6:22 this song does not drag nor make you want to change the track.  When the song hits the midway point it takes off and soars and leaves the listener feeling victorious.

5)      Ad Infinitum- March on listener, forevermore.  This track has an odd march-type feel to it and this leaves me all the more reason to feel that this album has a dream/battle concept.  Where are we marching and why? Straight into “Coldly You Lead.”

6)      Coldly You Lead- One of the few tracks on the album with vocals this song contains amazing imagery.  The controlled chaos of the ending and all of the images coming together make this a highlight of the album.  If Trent Reznor and Matt Berninger of The National combined their voices and minds this is the type of song they would make.

7)      Still Alive- The scratchiness, the fading in and out, the acoustic guitar and the big F you sound in the vocals and lyrics (which let us know Bob Dylan’s influence is still existent) are a perfect way to cap off the album.  This song lets the listener know what the battle was for and that, in the end, we made it out alive for better or worse.  The silent, almost paranormal, ending reinforces the big F you from the lyrics and vocals.  A few key lyrics:  “When I hear you moaning in the dark I try to feel your pain,” leading into “I only hope that this will not rain on your parade,” let the listener know he’s “Still Alive” and so are we and there are no intentions of going anywhere.