STONESATELLITES: TWO-TRACK REVIEW
Stonesatellites is a solo project by Naarm/Melbourne local Joe Burke. Joe takes inspiration from Rock, Electronic, Metal, Dance and Industrial to create his own musical sound. Stonesatellites have released their debut singles 'Unretrofied' and 'If Your Language Is Iron, Mine Must Be Clay'. Is the can half diseased, Or is the disease half canned, And is the man half machine, Or is the machine half man. I'm unretrofied, For you I'll just fake it, In the end just save it, For a new song and leave dead. I would be lying
if I said I wasn't caught off guard when listening to Unretrofied for the first time. Every time I thought the track was taking me in one direction, I was hurled to a completely different place. This is by no means a negative, but in fact the highest positive I could give. In a world full of predictability and song structure following the exact same pattern it was refreshing and exciting to find myself in that position. Unretrofied will pull you in like quicksand and once you are trapped there it turns into something akin to a trance like experience; with the electronic and dance elements causing you to sway almost against your will. The use of clean, harsh, vocal effects and layering provides an all consuming soundscape, making it feel like this isn't a solo project at all. Musically Unretrofied takes you through a journey of confusion, compliance and unleashing yourself from control. Now they're looting our holes, Until there is nothing left, Calloused intentions it seems, Coward's
invention at best, I'm unretrofied, For you Jesus can't play the music, Caused he's nailed to the cross, And over gnawed off feet I find. For the sake of efficiency, I will be referring to 'If Your Language Is Iron, Mine Must Be Clay' as Language from this point of the review onwards. The sin is seeping out, From you, Daggers of spite and pity, Just want to hunt me down, You strung me out again, All for your bloodsport, The game is running thin, I just can’t see it. Language is one of those songs that would fit perfectly on the soundtrack of Queen of the Damned. Mysterious. Intriguing. Mesmerizing. Entrancing. All while something inherently dangerous lingers under the surface. Language vocally hits a classic rock tone, leaning heavily into belts and subtle fry use throughout the track. The frustration at being taken advantage of and used for someone else's selfish gain seeps into every note as Joe carries you on the journey. While Language still holds that definitive electro-dance influence, it is mostly restricted to the musicality of the song, creating a well balanced blend of rock and electro
and shining a light on the versatility and unique creation that is stonesatellites. There were several points throughout my time listening to Unretrofied and Language that I was pulled in so heavily to the feeling that I forgot I was listening to this for a review. That doesn't happen very often, and while the lyricism of Language is not overly in-depth, the way the language use, vocal choices and instrumentals interact, you don't even notice. For the first two releases of stonesatellites I am impressed with how versatile the sound is, yet feeling cohesive and not a harsh or jarring shift as you move from one song to the next. You plead incompetence, The same old, All in the name of fame, And you are one with it, You strung me out again, All for your bloodsport, The game is running thin, I just can’t see it.
For Fans Of: NiN, Helmet, Chevelle and Depeche Mode
9/10
Comments