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I:Scintilla - Live on JBTV


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After the critically acclaimed EP "Marrow 2" which captured the band at its peak, displayed their progress and redirection towards a more mature sound, the members of one of the most popular contemporary post-industrial acts, with their pride intact, present the first live album in their career.
 
The group’s first appearance on JBTV - a music showcase show featuring Illinois scene's artists that has been running for almost 30 years now - took place in 2007."Live on JBTV" is a part of the second performance recorded five years later so the natural course of events was that tracks from 2010’s "Dying &Falling" would take up album’s space predominantly, whereas inclusions from the previous album "Optics" downsized to the flagship "Cursive Eve". In the light of continual progress observable in their consecutive releases, one’s reaction to the chosen material can be nothing but positive. Still it’s not all – "The War to Win" previously unpublished and also listed for a movie soundtrack is a sure highlight for the fans.     
The band accomplished something that many strive to achieve but scarcely ever succeed – to bring together the quality of sound typical of a studio recorded material with well captured energy of live performance. A unique feature of this record, credit for which goes to excellent "production", is an irresistible impression that the musicians are actually playing privately for you in your room. The fact that the cuts differ sharply from their studio counterparts, not in the structure but by heavily accentuated group’s rock profile gives additional value to "Live on JBTV".
Even the most dedicated fans who already know every note by heart will be satisfied with the group’s new face which has never been given that much exhibition on any of the previous albums, on the other hand, those who have already had the opportunity to watch them playing live can prepare for a déjà vu from that experience.
Brittany Bindrims’s voice as strong as a steel rivet from the Golden Gate Bridge penetrates the fleshed out sound layers coming from the surprisingly heavy guitars and imparts to them a desirable flavor, a bustling percussion adds flame to the roast, an electronic set, not left behind but substituted and perfectly synchronized with the energy of the riffs - cuts through the material bringing out exquisite aromas as well as an intense flavor of the main ingredients.   
The captivating industrial present in the darker "Face The Kill" and "Mothership" constitutes of a guitar and electronic driven beginning - utterly emotional, spiced with aggression and a natural, seductive timbre of the singer’s voice –  where repeatedly applied solutions send pleasurable shivers of satisfaction down the listeners’ spines. Waves so familiar, dashed with psychedelia, a danceable beat and a nearly palpable, animated body of instruments take us into the space of a prestigious studio in Chicago allowing to focus specifically and separately on each sound coming from the band on stage.
"Worth The Wait", a hit track gravitating toward darkwave, despite its tuned-down longing atmosphere doesn’t detract from Brittany voice’s charisma – quite the opposite, it shines even more. "Swimmers Can Drown" which has been turned into a clash of guitars, and the undulating, locomotive, hypnotizing "Cursive Eve", the staple classics of I:Scintilla have been intensified and gained a new dimension to send you into sonic ecstasy.
As it usually happens the climax is where the highest expectations are met, here likewise – "The War to Win" is the icing on the cake, it stands out from the rest, yet to some degree resembles both "Drag Along" and "Dying & Falling". After a short introduction it begins with piano tones permeated with sadness and a strong and dramatic vocal comes forth.
The cut’s gradually increasing dynamics retain a moderate pace, yet releasing bigger and bigger emotional ripples, overwhelms the listener with its moving lyrics, metaphors and melancholy conveyed in the sounds of keyboard and softer guitar.  
The moment reaches its apex when Brittany sings to the exclusive accompaniment of a modest piano – the calm before the storm.
I:Scintilla barely allow us to simmer down before they strike with "Skin Tight", the last charismatic single, electronically degenerate and with an atmosphere depraved by unsettling industrial, riffs lowered in pitch and a vocal that magnetizes.
Finally they fire their last round - and literally – it’s "Ammunition". It’s unbelievable how after such an exhausting performance they are able to pull off something so full of energy at the same time letting the listener to burn the last reserves of his own by succumbing to the rapid rhythm of the composition.  

The band’s unfailing enthusiasm is contagious to the audience what is audibly reflected in the noises coming from that direction.  It’s one of the best live albums I’ve ever had a chance to listen to – straight from one of the best post-industrial groups of the modern scene.

Tracklist:

01. Face The Kill
02. Mothership
03. Worth The Wait
04. Swimmers Can Drown
05. Cursive Eve
06. The War To win
07. Skin Tight
08. Ammunition
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Translator: bstr_litzmannstadt
Add date: 2014-02-13 / Music reviews


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