all the frozen horses
****
Hidden gem The Quiet Room may very well be our answer to the trip-hop hole that Adelaide unfortunately has. Made up of vocalist Matt Cahill and producer Andrew Muecke, the duo utilise elements of dark pop, new wave, and their own little avant-garde twist, to make some chilling tunes.
They’ve recently released their debut album All The Frozen Horses through Paper Rock Scissors records. From start to finish, the release contains lush analogue synths alongside vocals that are unique, if not a little creepy.
The star of the whole album is no doubt its ability to give you goosebumps, especially when you’re listening late at night in the dark. This is very evident in track “Mayan Dream”, where children’s laughter seemingly pops out of nowhere, accompanied by cold, expansive vocals.
There’s also the neat, trivial instrumentation that may go unnoticed through passive listening. Instruments such as the trumpet in “On the Corner of Loss & Gone”, and “Noir De’sir” only add to the unique, cold feeling that The Quiet Room are certainly attempting to pass on to listeners.
The production is good, and the composition is unique throughout – it’s all you need from an avant-garde band. There’s enough variation for you to listen through a couple of times, whether it’s an accompaniment for a late-night drive in the car, or as a little bit of ambience while you’re telling a ghost story.
In some aspects, though, the vocals feel a little tacked on to the underlying instrumentation – it would have been nice to hear them a little more gelled together. The Quiet Room have still put out a quality debut record worth checking out.
Also printed in Bside Magazine 9 April 2015