Review: “Self Titled” EP by Abstracademy

Hailing from Buenos Aires Argentina and comprising Carol Amy on bass and vocals, AJ on guitar and vocals, The Birdman on guitar and Manu Salas on drums, Abstracademy are a band who play Progressive Post Metal and released their debut, self titled EP in November 2018.

Getting this underway is intrumental “Paralelo” which has guitar work that flows neatly between Progressive Metal and Melodic Post-Hardcore. The bridging sections have an albums ambient shoe gazing quality before they get broken up by a chunky Stoner Metal riff that takes everything into Toska territory with some big crash cymbal hits. Carol Amy brings some PJ Harvey esq aching vocals to “Cotard Syndrome” which has a Jazz feel to it similar to some of the more melodic My Ruin songs which have the same inspiration. AJ brings some unclean growls that add a weight and again the overlapping chunky rhythm riff adds a weight and gravity to the song which could otherwise in a more stripped back form be something out of a 1930s Jazz club. “City Circles” is a second instrumental in keeping with the opening tune and blends the stylings between the two songs. There are some glorious tempo and tone shifts with perhaps more progressive leaning moments than are apparent the first time around. It’s the soundtrack to a Spy Triller that builds up and falls away neatly.

The tune that will catch you off guard the most is “Broken Binary”. It’s haunting melodic opening continues where “Cotard Syndrome” left off with those same aching vocals from Carol Amy. But when the chorus hits, you could be listening to Grim Existence. AJ’s beast from beyond uncleans are slow and darkly atmospheric while being joined by some Mastodon sided riffs. The contrast within the song is a joy and the flow between its Jekyll and Hyde is indeed a strange case of a not quite split personality. The closing Jazz breakdown is a wonderful twist in the tale. Easily the oddest song title we’ve heard this week is “TV Man & The Frog Dog”, the closing instrumental cut. The dynamic play off between both guitars and their respective tones is worked well and the technical abstract lead work is a fine pointer to how the band could progress in the future. The song has a fine rise and fall that works out in concentric circles increasing in progression with each twist and turn [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Paralelo (Instrumental)
2. Cotard Syndrome
3. City Circles (Instrumental)
4. Broken Binary
5. TV Man & The Frog Dog (Instrumental)

“Self Titled” by Abstracademy is out now and available over at bandcamp