Mind the Journey
Color in the Gray Machine
(self-released)
Mind the Journey, basically Spencer Sabo playing/singing/writing all the tunes here, mines quite the interesting soundscapes on Color in the Gray Machine. The first real tune here, the second track, “Desserts,†features Sabo’s high warble over drum machine gated effects and plinky keys. It’s a spooky enough wash of sound and vibe, but I like the cheap-sounding keys and beat box drum machine sound of mover “Interdimensional Romance†better with Sabo’s cry-of-a-vocal here working better to push the point of a man aching for a connection. “Rose Colored Glass†has echoy keys running with a solid shuck-a-shunk beat and Sabo calling out more than singing on a tune that starts out as backing sounds looking to just bubble out (and at times doing just that), then switching to a 70’s-sounding ballad slow beat (it’s a nice, unexpected change-up, the first third of the tune) back into that shunking beat and key lead at the end. “Atmintis (Pass the Haze)†sees Sabo really singing well. There is a sadness to the chorus that works perfectly against a very strong verse melody that is Beatles-esque. For want of a better tune, “Noise Gate†is probably the best example of a truly progressive tune here. There’s plenty of changes in sound and style throughout with its odd (but effective) drum moments and Sabo pleading his case over heavy organ intrusion. Overall, I feel Sabo sounds very much to me like Gregg Alexander from The New Radicals, a strong vocalist with a single-man vision.
You can listen to the album here.
