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| Intimate Technicolor Paragons cover art by Prism Kisses. |
This album has a strange, ghost-like quality to it, not too dissimilar to Dreampunk, but where it has the same atmospheric and haunting qualities as dreampunk, Intimate Technicolor Paragons differs with its jarring stylistic switches and stark minimalism. The album's concept is akin to the synopsis of a psychological horror novel, depicting a group of scientists scarred by hallucinatory experiments. The music is fittingly stiff and surreal, jumping between reverberated and paulstretched Ambient passages and slightly noisy Progressive Electronic sequences at the flip of a hat. Towards the end of the album, it gains a significantly darker, more sinister tone which manifests in longer passages and startlingly barren soundscapes.
However, despite the efficacy at conveying a concept and mood, there are numerous drawbacks. Among them is the general production. There are numerous moments on even my most favorite tracks off this record, take 'The Last Distress Call' for instance, where there is frequent and obtrusive clipping involved, and tends to get in the way of my enjoyment. Another problem is that these songs tend to meander and loop without much justification, which leads to a lot of boredom with the tracklist and only a few highlights. But those highlights are definitely highlights, with 'Eulogy' being a slow and enveloping piece of Ambient that ends up becoming a welcoming atmosphere in a comparatively dark environment. Overall, this is a mixed bag of lukewarm experiments tied together, and, while not a cohesive experience or the best produced, is one worth listening to if only for its highest points and its atmosphere.
However, despite the efficacy at conveying a concept and mood, there are numerous drawbacks. Among them is the general production. There are numerous moments on even my most favorite tracks off this record, take 'The Last Distress Call' for instance, where there is frequent and obtrusive clipping involved, and tends to get in the way of my enjoyment. Another problem is that these songs tend to meander and loop without much justification, which leads to a lot of boredom with the tracklist and only a few highlights. But those highlights are definitely highlights, with 'Eulogy' being a slow and enveloping piece of Ambient that ends up becoming a welcoming atmosphere in a comparatively dark environment. Overall, this is a mixed bag of lukewarm experiments tied together, and, while not a cohesive experience or the best produced, is one worth listening to if only for its highest points and its atmosphere.
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