issue 17 // volume 42

Level up!

» Miracle of Sound's ‘Level 6’ album review

Duncan Fingarson
Columnist

thing about Miracle of
Sound is that, barring a few
collaborations, everything is the
work of one guy. Gavin Dunne, a
relatively unknown independent
musician from Ireland, does all

the vocals, all the guitar, and with : to havea softer song to bring

things back down. “Stay by My

: Side” features much quieter

: vocals and some truly beautiful
: instrumental composition. This
: isa very feel-good sort of song,

: full of wonder and peace.

the help of virtual instrument
software and a keyboard, all
the other instruments too. It’s
for a niche audience—most of
the music is based off video
games—but it’s still really good
and incredibly varied. His new
album, Level 6, was released
last month and continues the
trend. Everything in the album’s
15 genre-spanning tracks is
different, and it’s all so good.

“Don’t Say a Word” is the
first track, a synth-rock piece
with echoing vocals and a nice,
slow, background drumbeat. It’s
a strong start, and it’s not even
the best song on the album.

Track two, “London Town,”
opens with piano and flows
into guitar. There’s some great
soft sections with more piano
and subtle acoustic guitar,
contrasted with sections of
higher energy drums and electric
guitar, perfect for a song about
the industrial revolution.

Then there’s track three,
“Lady of Worlds,” which is a duet

and probably the best song on the > acomic character, but this

: time it’s one of DC’s: Batman!
: “I Am the Night” isn’t the first
with a lot of traditional-sounding : Batman song Gav has done,
: and musically it’s pretty close

: to the last ones. It’s dark, it’s

: gothic, it’s brooding. It’s Batman.
: What more could you ask for?

album. The background music
has a very folk sort of feel to it,

strings and drums. The female
vocals, performed by Gav’s friend
Ailin Kennedy, are wonderful—
powerful, with a touch of
elegance to the delivery—while
Gav’s own vocals are subdued—
more spoken than sung in some
places and not too overpowering.

“Road Rage” is the first
non-video game-inspired track,
one of five on the album. This

—
a
AIRMCLEROF S

: one pays tribute to Mad Max,

: opening like a dust cloud on the
: horizon and building slowly,

he most consistently amazing : the drums and guitar hitting a

: crescendo into full-blown, fast-
: paced industrial metal. You can
: almost hear the roaring engines
: inthe background. This is a

: close second for best song.

After “Road Rage,” it’s nice

It’s followed by “Going

: Nuclear,’ a fun, bouncy little

: tune that sounds like it could

: have come right out of the

: ’5os. It’s the shortest track on

: the album, and a lot of effort

: has gone into making it sound

: authentically old. From the vinyl
: record scratch at the opening

: to the sparse instrumentals,

: it’s hard to believe this one was

: recorded on modern equipment.
: Anyone who loves classic

; jukebox numbers will love this.

From the ’5os, it’s onto the

: ’70s with “Friends,” inspired by

: Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s a
: lot of funk and disco in here, and
: the lyrics touch unsurprisingly

: on friendship and having a few

: good buddies to fall back on

: when the going gets rough.

The next song is also about

“Evacuate” is somewhat

: unique, one of two that

: wasn't inspired by a particular
: other work. The second is
Listen to this one, if nothing else. : track 13, “Metasonic” which
: is instrumental. “Evacuate”
: has lyrics, dealing with loss,
: learning to move on, and

- ail
5
z

L E“vre
6

: staying positive during hard
: times. It’s a surprisingly fun
: track for its subject matter.

“My Shooting Star” is for

: fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon's

: space western, and it really

: nails the western vibe. This

: one sounds like it wouldn't be
: out of place around a campfire
: in the middle of the desert.

“Paleblood Moon” somehow

manages to out-gothic the

: Batman track. It opens with

: distant bells and chanting choirs,
: and is backed bya dark, dense,

: brooding orchestral score. |

: think I heard a wolf howl in

: there, too. Words can’t really

: do it justice—this is a complex

: piece and it works really well.

“Friends to Foes” is the Halo

: track, a straightforward rock

: song with just enough piano and
: string music to place it alongside
: the Halo original soundtracks.

: It’s big, it’s bombastic, and

: it’s a lot of fun, but there’s

: some notes of loss to go along

: with it. It gets melancholic at

: times, but never for too long.

The album’s original tracks

: finish up with “I am Pudge,”

: a funny song with groaning

: vocals and big bumbling tubas.
: Just try not to picture a fat

: butcher tromping about during
: this one—it can’t be done.

The last song on the album

: isa remastering of an older track.
: “Hard Cash 2015” would be my

: favourite, but I’m discounting

: it because it’s not new for this

: album. It’s still great, with

: updated heavier basslines and

: less airy vocals, but it keeps its

: roots. This song is 80s, Miami

: Beach and desperation, synth and
: Ray-Bans. Easily the best of the

: three Grand Theft Auto V songs

: Gav did, this one surprised me

: when I first heard it and grew on
: me since then. I still love it today.

Bottom line: this is a

: fantastic album by a great artist.
: Listen to it if you haven't, buy
: it if you love it, and rock on.

OR

Album cover

 

arts // no. 9

Comic Corner:
No more happily

ever after

» ‘Fables: The Wolf Among Us Vol. 1’

review

a Brittney MacDonald
' Life & Style Editor
AMBd ZG iifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

spin-off of the popular
ables series and based

on the award-winning game
of the same name, The Wolf
Among Us has a lot to live
up to. Thankfully, it seems
that Matthew Sturges and
Dave Justus have been able to
succeed and improve upon
at least some of their source
material. Though not as epic
as Fables, The Wolf Among Us
is a great introduction to the
universe originally created by

it exceeds that which was
presented in the game.

For those of you who have
read either the Fables series or
the Fairest series, this narrative
acts as a prequel.

Bigby Wolf is the sheriff of
Fabletown, a neighbourhood
in New York City that merges
fairy-tale and reality by having
storybook characters live in
an urban setting. But a chance
encounter with a former

 

: princess/current prostitute has
: him questioning everyone's

: Happily Ever After—and when
: her decapitated head turns up,

OOOO

it opens the floodgates for some
serious intrigue.
If you assumed that this

: would be just a basic retelling

: of the Telltale game, you'd be

: wrong. Written by Sturges

: and Justus, this comic goes

: along way into filling in the

: gaps left by the game. Don't

: get me wrong, the game did an
: amazing job, but its medium

; just did not allow for this level

: of detail. Personally, I feel that
: the comic book was a lot more

: successful in creating suspense,
: but it lacked the character

: development presented in the
Bill Willingham, and narratively : game, especially with the side-
: characters.

The Wolf Among Us is

: illustrated by Shawn McManus,
: who previously worked on

E Fairest, and the art is mostly

: good. There are some awkward
: anatomy issues, especially with
: Bigby, but they are infrequent.

Overall, I like the series and

: would recommend it. Though,
: if you plan to play the game,

: do that first so the ending isn’t
: spoiled.

Image via www.toonzone.net