Review: Aesthetic Perfection – 'Ebb And Flow'

AESTHETIC PERFECTION 

'Ebb And Flow' 

CLOSE TO HUMAN MUSIC 

Having fully settled into his industrial pop style, Daniel Graves, continues to perfect his direction across a series of singles that mix pop vocals, steady dance appeal and infectious electro. The latest of which 'Ebb And Flow' proves to be the strongest so far.

There is an air dark and sleazy malicious intent bubbling just below the surface with it's ebm bass line. But Graves pulls things back into pop territory with one of his strongest vocal performances to date with his melodic vocals providing a strong backbone that is embellished nicely with rougher punctuations. The track is incredibly focussed right from the off and you can't help but want to move your feet to it.

Miggiddo, the side project of Anaal Nathrakh's Mick Kenney, then takes the song and turns it into a radio-friendly summer hit. It's a complete curveball from Kenney but it feels as though he has taken the song to it's logical pop conclusion.

The final track is a melancholy cover of NSYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye' and enlists New Years Day guitarist Nikki Misery and manages to get some feeling and depth out of the disposable 90s hit. The end result is a dark and emotional lament that works really well.

Production-wise Graves continues to push for the kind of high-quality modern sound that pop ambitions necessitate and hits his mark with ease. Even the darker strains of the NSYNC cover are refined, near cinematic in fact.

Graves' continues to diversify and refine what Aesthetic Perfection is as a band. And the results continue to impress. As interesting as this run of singles has been though, hopefully a full-length release is just round the corner.

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Review: Aesthetic Perfection – 'Blood Spills Not Far From The Wound'

AESTHETIC PERFECTION
'Blood Spills Not Far From The Wound'
METROPOLIS RECORDS

Revisiting and re-evaluating older material is never an easy task but sometimes the benefit of hindsight can breathe new life into things. Such is the case of Aesthetic Perfections latest release, 'Blood Spills Not Far From The Wound'. Originally an album released in in 2007 under the now defunct Necessary Response moniker, the original 'Blood Spills Not Far From The Wound' was a foray into almost futurepop territory which was at the time the antithesis of the aggressive Aesthetic Perfection. However with the more melodic content of recent Aesthetic Perfection material and the inclusion of some of these tracks in live shows the time is right to revisit the past.

The end result is a strong blend of the two projects that blurs previous lines and adds an injection of a more self-assured expression of song writing that has been building in recent years. The album sees the mixes cleaned up and the vocals re-recorded which benefits them greatly as Grave's voice is far more confident and mature now compared to 2007, and his production skills eclipse his earlier efforts.

Songs such as 'Forever', 'Vapor', 'For Al The Lost', 'Dying In The Worst Way', 'Elements', and 'Devotion' simply sound phenomenal as they power through the speakers and bringing with them a new dynamic to the Aesthetic Perfection sound. While the inclusion of the new track 'Never Enough' over the instrumental 'This Distance' adds to the dynamic of the album.

The only place that the changes perhaps don't work is on 'Spilling Blood' which is a shame. This was perhaps the only example of a track not really needing too much tweaking but the end result has left it flat compared to the original.

On the whole the new mixes and vocal performances create a much more dynamic and exciting record than the first time round. Graves has a more confident voice and hi tweaks to the production have brought the album right up to date. The result of which is a strong album that feels at home in the Aesthetic Perfection catalogue.

It is great to see this material, which was in danger of becoming a footnote in Graves' career, be reclaimed and given the treatment it deserves. Fans of the original may be a little bit prickly and guarded in how they approach this new version, but an open mind may find more positives than negatives, while those new to the album will find this a comfortable development in the continued evolution of Aesthetic Perfection.  

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Review: Aesthetic Perfection – 'Imperfect'

AESTHETIC PERFECTION
'Imperfect'
METROPOLIS RECORDS

Aesthetic Perfection going acoustic? Surely not! I hear you cry. But that's exactly what Daniel Grave's latest album 'Imperfect' does. Some of Graves' biggest club hits are stripped back to acoustic guitar, piano, upright bass, and drums with no machines anywhere to be heard... and you know what? It works.

It works very well in fact. Performed in front of a live audience and captured raw and with no overdubs Graves backed by Lauren Krothe, Marquis Howell III, Tim Skold and Tim Van Horn present a much more dark cabaret inspired sound that recalls the likes of Voltaire and The Dresden Dolls.

It's a testament to the strength of Graves' song writing that the songs translate so well, and the atmosphere of the live recording with liberal helpings of banter with the audience adds a greater level of intimacy to the proceedings. Songs like 'The Great Depression', 'Inhuman', 'Antibody', 'The Siren', 'Spilling Blood', and 'Big Bad Wolf' especially take to the transposition well with jazz, swing, and folk elements coming together to overhaul the tracks rather than simply strip them back.

As it is a live album there is a certain rawness to the overall sound. But it is a necessity that preserves the original atmosphere and intimacy of the show but not at the expense of the performance, which is crisp, clear and very well mixed.

This is an interesting and enjoyable side-step from Graves. It's fun, different, but most of all it's well executed. IT goes to show that if you're going to do something unexpected as a musician, you need to do it with commitment. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, and its by no means club friendly. But that isn't the point. 'Imperfect' takes the Aesthetic Perfection philosophy in a new direction, purely for the sake of it. And why not?  

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Review: Aesthetic Perfection – 'Til Death'

AESTHETIC PERFECTION
'Til Death'
METROPOLIS RECORDS 

You probably don't need to have been following things too closely to have noticed the rise of Aesthetic Perfection up the ranks.  They've always had great albums, but 'Til Death' is the product of releasing the chains and giving full artistic freedom to go and make the album they want to make. There are are a massive mixture of influences going in there, 80s Pop, 90s metal, 21st century electronics... and it all comes out into a sublime blend. Daniel Graves is an excellent and proven songwriter and this is a diving conception.

The creepily eerie 'Happily Ever After' sets up the perfect build up to the album - a chiming bell and hollowed echoing vocals - each bar crashes down and you're just waiting for something to kick in... then suddenly 'Antibody', the intro sends the neck nerves tingling and it boots into an addictive pop song.

Of course, 'Antibody' was one of three build up singles. These were tracks that divided opinions with some hailing these as being amongst their best ever stuff - and others dismissing as being horrible pop tracks.  The truth is, like many tracks on the album, they're addictive. You can dismiss all you like - you'll be humming or singing the tracks for hours later.

'Turn the Lights On (Ready to Go)' is another great example from the 'new' tracks, the sharp synths will be a nice ear worm for you. Twisted melodies, like Lady Gaga being impaled on a chainsaw. 'Showtime' is a ballroom dance for the dead while 'The New Black' is a snarling attack on the music industry. 'Lovesick' wraps up the album with an almost perfect bitter-sweet ending – and the whole thing is gelled with tracks each strong in their own right.

It's probably going to give a headache working out which tracks to play live on the forthcoming tour, but it's a good headache to have. Whilst it's important to focus on the album in hand, it does also pose the headache on how they're going to top this on the next album – but it's sure going to be exciting finding out.

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Aesthetic Perfection announce new album 'Til Death' and tour dates

Daniel Graves has revealed his latest album under the name Aesthetic Perfection will be released on the 10th February 2014, via Metropolis Records.

The album is the follow-up to 2011's 'All Beauty Destroyed' and is available to pre-order now via iTunes and Bandcamp.

Track List:

01. Happily Ever After
02. Antibody
03. Lights Out (Ready to Go)
04. Death Rattle
05. Big Bad Wolf
06. Showtime
07. Oh, Gloria!
08. The Dark Half
09. The New Black
10. Lovesick

Aesthetic perfection will also be returning to the UK on tour in support of the new album on the following dates.

15.02.2014  SHEFFIELD  Corporation
16.02.2014  GLASGOW  Classic Grand
17.02.2014  NEWCASTLE  Cluny
19.02.2014  CARDIFF  The Globe
20.02.2014  LONDON  Camden Underworld

For more information on the band please visit the official website.

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Aesthetic Perfection UK headlining tour

Electro duo Aesthetic Perfection have announced their return to the UK for a run of four headline dates. Starting off at Glasgow's Classic Grand on the 8^th July the band will take in Newcastle and Manchester before finishing in London on the 11^th July at the Camden Underworld.

The band have also just released a cool new video for the song 'Antibody', taken from their forthcoming untitled album which is scheduled for an early 2014 release.

Tour Dates:

Mon 8th July - GLASGOW Classic Grand

Tue 9th July - NEWCASTLE - Trillians

Wed 10th July - MANCHESTER - Academy 3

Thu 11th July - LONDON - Camden Underworld

Tickets are on sale now, available at www.flagpromotions.com and www.ticketweb.co.uk

For more information on Aesthetic Perfection please visit their official website.

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