Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 8 / 5 / 2008

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Review

A sprawling, incoherent mess. On a first listen that is exactly what 'Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel' tends to sound like. It might sound like that on the second listen as well. Equal parts lo-fi rock and electronica it only sometimes makes sense. It is these times though, where a kind of coherence swirls together, that drag you back in for another listen. When at their expansive best these songs are a brilliant lo-fi exploration. Standout track ‘Decent Bedroom’ could be a mission statement, sounding like a long lost pop classic coming through on a distorted radio while pirate broadcasts from Sigur Ros, the Smashing Pumpkins and unidentifiable others occasionally attempt to crash the same frequency. At other points though the songs can sound a barer. On the numbers that are stripped of their layers, 'Let the Blind…' seems shallow and even tinny. Some tracks aren’t even really coherent as songs. They just drift in and out of your stereo, having left a faint impression of vague pleasantness on your ears. As a whole package there is something about 'Let the Blind…' that is compelling. I’m dammed if I know what it is though. This album is hard work. Even those who like it will find it requires careful attention. Try putting this on as background music and you’ll get little out of it. To be honest I’m not even sure if I like this album. But I’m sure I’m going to be listening to it again and again in an attempt to find out.

Track Listing:-

1 A Ghost Story
2 Recent Bedroom
3 River Card
4 Quarantined
5 On Guard
6 Winter Vacation
7 Cold As Ice
8 Scraping Past
9 Small Horror
10 Ready, Set, Glow
11 Bite Marks
12 After Class
13 Ativan
14 Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

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