Pendulum are an Aussie drum & bass group from Perth best characterised by their catchy detuned saw leads and often grouchy synth basslines. Those who have heard either of their albums will know this is only one aspect of their style.
Lately, I’ve been listening to and really enjoying Pendulum’s second LP, In Silico. When I first heard their singles Granite and Propane Nightmares on the radio, I was worried they’d changed their sound to “Hardcore Drum & Bass Ultimate Heavy to the Max!” After listening to the whole album, this is true to some extent but it seems confined to individual tracks which is a relief. I like a bit of heavy, but it just wouldn’t be Pendulum if the whole album was like that. Don’t be put off by the heavier sounding singles. Overall, this sequel to their debut album Hold Your Colour has a good balance between heavy drum & bass and chillout breakbeat. It’s classic Pendulum and that’s why I love ‘em.
I first heard Pendulum a few years ago on Triple J when Hold Your Colour was a feature album. Their single Fasten Your Seatbelt was the first I heard and I was immediately intrigued by a sound seemed unfamiliar to me. I’ve always been sucker for power synth, and had recently become an avid fan of breakbeat through bands like Hybrid. Then Pendulum appeared out of the blue, serving up a unique combination of these two styles. I dug a little deeper into the Pendulum universe and it was a revelation. Some years later I listened to a drum & bass station on streaming radio and realised this sound was not so unique to Pendulum. I listened sporadically for about a week but none of the music I heard could come close to being as good as Pendulum. So their unique sound could be summed up as being “Drum & bass that doesn’t suck”.
For over 12 months Hold Your Colour was easily my favourite album. The title track really blew me away with its pure, emotive vocals and impossibly complex chorus. The vocoded lyrics as best as I can discern are “Push in the knive, gauge open your eye.” The album art also alludes to this. Another stand-out track is Girl in the Fire with its acoustic core and catchy bass riff topped off with a good helping of formant shift. In my opinion it’s the first song I’ve heard to use formant shift effectively but with restraint as to avoid becoming abusive. You imagine the song without it and it just wouldn’t be the same. Slam is another favourite and is the most “Pendulumy” song on the album. It’s one of a few tracks which create an atmosphere that I can only describe as “Fun House Sound”, conjuring up images of scary clowns, silly mirrors, haunted houses and other cliches. With the most memorable lead melody, Slam is a perfectly structured song in the way it builds and releases tension. The first full-length track after the introductory Prelude, it’s a great way to open the album. Still Grey, Streamline and Plasticworld are all excellent but much lighter “chillout” tracks, and these are what gives the album its perfect balance between heavy and light. I must admit I prefer the lighter tracks as I find listening to them really quite relaxing.
In Silico maintains this balance if veering slightly toward the heavy side. This is not due to there being more heavy tracks, but rather that the heavier tracks really are quite heavy compared to their earlier stuff. Some could be mistaken for alternative rock. When I first listened to the album, I was a little disappointed by the heavier tracks. But then I had a reality check and realised “Hang on a second. You like alternative rock. You can like these songs because they succeed at being really great alternative rock.” After listening to the whole album I realised that In Silico had the same perfect balance that was present in Hold Your Colour, and like its predecessor it became an instant favourite.
With most albums by my favourite artists, I usually don’t have to think very hard to pick a favourite track. Normally, one stands out from all others after the first run through, and this case was no exception. I can easily say 9000 Miles is one of the best songs I have ever heard. The song, with its limited lyrics is still able to conjure up vivid imagery of one separated from his lover by a vast distance. The electronic nature of the music leads me to imagine the distance has something to do with space. It could be the distance between two ships in space, but more probable (9000 miles is not very far if you have a decent spaceship) is the distance between Earth and an orbiting satellite. I have, like, already filmed the music video in my head. It’s not often that music evokes such imagery, so when it does I’m always impressed.
Another awesome track is Midnight Runner, whose title is an obvious reference to the stimulant Dextroamphetamine either as a recreational drug, or as the pill given to U.S. Air Force pilots to combat fatigue (either seems appropriate given the futuristic theme of the album). I notice that there is a Cut Copy song with the same title, so maybe all these musicians are just rampant pill-poppers!
I’ve run out of things to say, so I’ll sum up by saying that Pendulum still rock out and if you liked their first album you should check out their latest one. Oh and here’s a video. It’s a pretty cool video and I think it redeems the song from the autotune abuse.
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