By Ibn-Umar Abbasparker of Indie Band Guru
A wise man once said, “To seek, one must first be lost.”
Yet, if one wishes to get lost, then one should seek SN!TA, the new self-titled album from experimental electronic shoegaze artist Say No! to Architecture. With distorted vocals, instrumental loops, and ambient electronic noise, the album displays a uniquely atonal quality and varied sound.
Potential listeners are certain to get buried in the waves of sound Say No! to Architecture unveils on this latest release.
Say No! to Architecture Experiments Relentlessly
Say No! to Architecture is a one-man project led by musician Allen Roizman. He began the project in 2005 in his hometown of Plainview, Long Island as a teenager. The following year, he released his debut album, a 90-minute improvised tone poem played over background noise.
Roizman continued self-releasing music under the Say No! to Architecture name and playing small gigs along the East Coast. Then, in early 2012, he retreated to Plainview and underwent a long, three-year hiatus. Say No to Architecture returned to the music scene to 2015. Now, Roizman celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the project with its new release, SN!TA, out on March 18.
The opening track, “Wieder’s Floor,” is similar, to use a tortured idiom, to an onion in that it possesses many layers. First, there’s the churning background noise. Next comes the drumbeats followed by a rhythmic bass line. A series of guitar riffs then emerge that seemingly stack on top of each other. Lastly, Roizman belts out ghostly, echo-like vocals. When combined, these attributes form a haunting, hypnotic song.
“Bullet Proof Liquor Store, MD” opens with an eerie, electronic droning sound. Played on top, tambourine shakes and a groove-laced bass riff form a steady, focused rhythm. Shortly afterwards, percussive drumbeats, guitar loops and placid guitar riffs carry the song forward.
Added to the mixture are howling vocals that resemble ancient incantations bouncing off of cavernous walls. Near the end of the song, the instrumental sounds fade away and the song rebuilds itself before fading away.
“Get Sick” begins with the sounds of fingers snapping. Then, an eclectic combination of distorted vocals, chiming bells, and reverb-heavy guitar loops prominently enter the song. Hi-heat cymbals and loud drumbeats soon join the fray, mixing with the bells to form a nice, percussive rhythm. For the icing on this sonic cake, Roizman unleashes cutting slashes from his guitar to help advance the song to its languorous end.
Then there’s “Cocaine, Eh.” It starts with electronic droning and rattling background noise, rather reminiscent of the soundtrack of an old Western film. Yet soon, it’s taken over by tambourine smacks, bass loops, and pulsing guitar hooks. Another layer of sound arises from spacey vocals that finely compliment the song’s resultant melody.
After ten years of making music, Say No! to Architecture’s new album shows people that there’s much more music to be made.
Purchase or stream SN!TA here.
