24hourflu, 24hourflu

Somewhere in the murky depths of post rock, drone, and jazz resides 24hourflu. Making music of such an experimental and progressive nature is a dangerous venture, which is compounded by the amount of music 24hourflu serves up (the CD clocks in at just over an hour). To be frank, I was set to hand the band their ass in this review before I’d even listened to the album. Their press sheet contained asinine statements about the band forging into “unlit territory beyond the musical tradition” and talked about how their sound is “artistry in motion.” Well, like the old adage says, don’t judge a book by its cover — or, in this case, a band by its press release.

There’s not a label you can place on 24hourflu’s sound. Complex and densely layered, the band’s sound stems from them drawing on diverse musical genres for inspiration and incorporating numerous instruments outside of those traditionally embraced by “rock” bands. Also, the members of 24hourflu play one another’s instruments on various songs, which creates the unique effect of having songs that may be of a similar style but still sound completely different. The one rough spot is the band’s occasional vocals. Unlike the digital speech samples used, which are processed, manipulated, and well-layered into the songs, the vocals sung by the band frequently seem unnecessary and out of place. Little more than monotone yelling, it sounds like something from a second-tier screamo/hardcore band.

Despite said vocal shortcomings, though, 24hourflu is an incredible band. Rarely can a band create music such as this that is not only enjoyable, but keeps your interest for well past an hour. For those who enjoy unusual, original music and/or well-done post-rock, this is a must.