It’s Everyone Else – The New Religion LP (Noise Appeal Records)

A new batch of Noise Appeal Records vinyl records arrived at our headquarters last week, so now it’s an appropriate time to share some thoughts. This has to be the only album by It’s Everyone Else that I haven’t reviewed. The New Religion is their second full-length, released by Noise Appeal in 2014. For those who missed my previous writings about this band, It’s Everyone Else nurtures a specific sound achieved by combining several complementary music genres. It’s not a type of music you stumble upon every day, but it suits your listening apparatus every time. There is something about how they write and compose their stuff that draws attention even more than other similar contemporaries on the scene.

The New Religion carries ten excellent compositions, probably best explained as an experimental rock. However, there’s a catch. These guys fully stacked these numbers with heavy dosages of indie, alternative, industrial, synth, screamo, noise rock, noise, and electronic music. It’s such a unique combination that works well in this case. Of course, with many genres like these, you can expect a detailed, complex, luxurious sound that travels all the way from calm, soothing, cathartic ambiances to much heavier, powerful, dynamic, aggressive moments. It is also interesting how It’s Everyone Else explores experimental noise, harsh noise, glitch, and other avant-garde music genres with each upcoming track. The New Religion becomes even more eerie, intense, frantic, and aggressive with all those glitchy, heavily distorted sonic maneuvers.

Of course, the industrial ambiance is continuously presented in the mix and perfectly matches their sheer aggression. The screaming lead vocals add even more rawness, abrasiveness, and dirtiness to an already fuzzy atmosphere. Still, It’s Everyone Else has not forgotten about their melodic side, so you’ll notice many leads, themes, melodies, and harmonies presented through exceptional piano performances or experimental electronic movements. Whatever sonic acrobatic this duo picks at the moment, everything sounds flawlessly combined, and each new idea incorporated in the upcoming songs stands out from those included in the previous. The duo also paid attention to the rhythm section, so you’ll notice a mixture of industrial, synth, and electronic beats perfectly synchronized with analog drumming. Like any other instrumentation implemented on this record, It’s Everyone Else picked electronic or analog rhythmic sequences depending on the mood and ambiance of their songs. The New Religion is a one-of-a-kind listening experience you should immediately check out. The record comes on beautiful purple vinyl, housed in an eye-peeling, hefty, high-quality vinyl sleeve. You can purchase this record as an It’s Everyone Else bundle at the Noise Appeal Records shop.