pressThis is, without a doubt, the strangest release that we have yet to hear on the esoteric Clairecords label. Ifwhen is the new band formed by Merc , who some will remember as a member of the shoegazer band All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors . We Will Gently Destroy You is a strange album indeed. The best way we can describe the sound of this CD is to say...that it sounds like two (or possibly three) different CDs are playing at the exact same time. This band's arrangements are decidedly unconventional and strange. If the oddities were stripped away, some of the songs might sound almost normal...but with all the peculiar layers of additional sound...the music sounds extremely muted and slightly crazy. Strangely dreamlike and hypnotic, this is an album that is bound to confuse writers and fans. And in this day and age...when most folks feel as if they've seen and heard everything before...that is a real accomplishment. Bizarre, trippy cuts include "Only Faster," "A Furious Kind," "Escape Method," and "Nothing Left to Avoid." Sometimes sounds kind of like a cross between The Cocteau Twins and a toned down Skinny Puppy (???!!!)... (Rating: 5) ---- lmnop.com "This is the new album from the extremely progressive band Ifwhen. Hailing from New York, these kids bring a great mix of downtempo, math rock, shoegaze and electronic together to make a wonderfully lush experimental sound. Their songs are distorted and fuzzy, creating an atmosphere that is unsettling while at the same time comfortable and hypnotic." --- Jessica Kizer, Kalamazoo Gazette All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors was a well-regarded but horribly monikered group that unabashedly reveled in their shoegazing influences. The swooning miasma of sound they created during their half-decade run garnered them something of a following among diehard dreampop fans. Ex-ANL&LF member Merc applies the sonic philosophies of his former group to his current project, Ifwhen. By stripping away the poppier elements and indulging in a more purely psychedelic experience, he's emerged with a record that's far more challenging and engaging than anything he did before. With mixing assistance from Oktopus (of hip-hop duo Dälek), Merc's singular vision of swirling, assaultive womb-rock has come to fruition. Hooks are present, but often muddled into the noisy, atmospheric stew just like the glistening guitars, throbbing bass and synthetic programming touches. Most of the songs here are fragmentary, expanded by repetition into bombastic near-epics; they often don't have much to say, but what they do say is said beautifully. --- Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly Atonal rock from this New York trio: Merc on guitar/ vox/beats,
Kentaro on bass, and Mary on keyboards. After the disbandment of "All Natural of Lime and Lemon Flavors," Merc (g, k, vo) created "ifwhen," in 2000. Ifwhen debuted with "Self Titled Debut" in 2003 and has recently completed their 2nd CD, "We Will Gently Destroy You." Uncanny combination of floating vocal melodies, distorted guitars, sound wall of keyboards, digital drum beats and progressive bass lines are very hypnotizing and contageous. --www.marcreation.com The walls of roaring loud sounds confronted those who have barely arrived here, after links to more press~ Ben Malkin's Ifwhen article in Perfect Sound Forever review of WWGDY by somewherecold.com review of "Interference" by Delusions of Adequacy UK Music Search review of WWGDY somewherecold.com Ifwhen interview
|