The Antikythera Mechanism (Proximity Butterfly)
From Rock in China Wiki
General Information
| Artist: | Proximity Butterfly |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Antikythera Mechanism |
| Release Date: | 2008, April 29 |
| Label: | LUDI Music (Modern Sky Records) |
| Type: | CDDA |
| Catalog No.: | L002 |
| Language: |
Track Listing
- Angelicus D
- Halo
- Speak With Me
- I Don't Know
- Stallions Of Stop
- I Don't Know II
- Phantasmagoria
- St.Davide
- Prophession
- Don Quixote
- It Makes No Difference
- Angelicus D (end)
Reviews
- (c) The Beijinger, Simon Frank, October 2008 issue
In the words of Franz Kafka, "It's always a ticklish thing to interfere in someone else's affairs in some decisive way." And even if one is not a hippie, something drastic needs to be said about Chengdu band Proximity Butterfly's The Antikythera Mechanism, Led by Cleveland transplant Joshua C. Love, this dreadlocked posse of laowais and locals has been spreading the gospel of peace, love and psychedelic rock to Sichuan province and the rest of China for a few years now. Unfortunately, the goods they peddle consist of meandering, bombastically epic rock that devours every misshapen influence it comes across. As a result, the listener is greeted with an overwhelming mass of wah-wahed power chords, incongruous funk bass and heavily effected vocals that alternate from faux-angelic coos to defiant shouts and gruff raps.
One listen to "Prophession" -- an example of the album's many eight-minute odysseys -- and many of the group's flaws become apparent. The track opens with shouts of "Unify! This race called man!" before continuing to incorporate a rap segment, cries simulating military training, awkward spoken Chinese and -- to top things off -- sampled dialogue about preparation for war (apparently from a video game).
No one can accuse Proximity Butterfly of being unoriginal, but their indecipherable music and lowbrow yet pretentious lyrics ("And artist is not whole until he's dead") are near impossible to digest. Though they clearly have strong views about the state of the world and a passion for playing music, their method of presentation is in need of simplification.
