You can pick your own price for Arpetrio’s Barcodes, their debut LP and a leap from two past EPs. Encrypted Layers (April 2010) and Scratching the Purpose (April 2011) were both collections of poppy, juicy and cluttered electronic bits, the latter a slightly smoother brand of chaos than the former.
Barcodes, released last fall and produced by Drew Andre, is a mark of maturity; though this LP is of the same mostly vocal-free, synthesized electro-psychedelia, it’s noticeably tighter, slightly more subdued and, most importantly, palpable.
Unlike the random chaotic sounds of their first EPs, Arpetrio makes emotions and, well, sense out of inflections and changes in timbre and tempo. You may not know what they mean, but you hear, and feel, a change.
To be clear, synthesizers and Abletons aren’t really my thing, but that’s the thing—whether you like it or not, Arpetrio comes at you with an immense wall of sound.
The opener “Settle Down” is rich and texturized, beginning with a tinny intro as if an ‘80s fantasy movie—think “Labyrinth”—is about to start. It’s best when they bring in a “real” instrument, drums, midway through the track.
Where exactly these songs are going to progress isn’t always certain; the first 30 seconds of “Time To Move pt. 1” sound like a majorly synthesized R&B intro, before giving way to a cluster of robotic, sparkling clinking noises. Nothing like “Time To Move pt. 2,” in which a segment of rhythmic vocals toward the end curve perfectly with the loose and airy music.
Though Alex Mindermann plays guitar, Wes Taylor contributes drums and Trent Little’s on bass, these instruments only spice the synth brew. It’s mainly synthesizers, keys and Ableton that subtly craft Barcodes’ moods. You notice something uplifting in the inflections of “Ponder,” for example, and the title track has an angry guitar and synth combination bubbling up.
Thirteen tracks bleed seamlessly into one another, kind of like an ongoing score for an ‘80s film, mixed into electro-dance party rhythms, mixed into amplified video game glitches and fuzz.
