Inventing Edward - We've Met an Impasse (By Midnight We'll Be Naked)
(Substandard)
Well, the title says something at least, but the amount of perviness implied is up to the judgment of the beholder. Inventing Edward appears to be something of a side project/collective from folks up in the Bay Area—band names invoked include Under a Dying Sun and Ruhaeda. The whole thing feels a bit like a goth-via-epic-post-rock take on the whole blue mood axis of the likes of early Spain or Red House Painters or the like, and the press kit is more than happy to suggest other names as well.
That cynicism aside, it is actually a pretty good album for those entranced by the potential combination of the above, and there are some core reasons why. Lead singer Shaye does have a darn good voice, that kind of cool passion reminiscent of Lynn Canfield from the Moon Seven Times. Meanwhile, there's also just enough rumbling noise and drama in the arrangements throughout to ensure this isn't simply music to drift off to—guitarist Sky, at least, could probably fit in with Mogwai or Godspeed as required. It's not riffing anyone's head off, to be sure, but it's a thick-sounding album in many ways, textured without aiming for the swathed-in-echo approach of blissout. The addition of accordion at many points adds a suitably moody, late-night-in-Europe-somewhere flow as well.
There's also enough low-key variety to captivate, ranging from the almost sprightly kick-up-one's-heels flow of "Listen to the Quiet Voice" to the Godspeed-in-miniature (and better for it) power of "Constant Reminder" and "Man Flesh." Admittedly other songs sound like Godspeed a little too well—the spoken word part on "Etude" is sort of a dead giveaway, even if the band recorded it themselves rather than finding a random sample from 1969 on a BASF tape in a Goodwill. But these are minor complaints, so order the album, try not to trip over the title and enjoy.
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