Sian Alice Group
Troubled, Shaken Etc.
Release Date: Aug 4, 2009
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Experimental
Record label: Social Registry
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Album Review: Troubled, Shaken Etc. by Sian Alice Group
Great, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
The second full-length from the Sian Alice Group on Social Registry is a logical extension of its 59.59 debut. Troubled, Shaken Etc is equally ambitious, yet it's much more deeply focused as a recording than its predecessor. Vocalist/songwriter Sian Ahern and her London-based sextet have carefully constructed this 13 track, 53-minute set to draw the listener down into a hushed, deceptively minimal soundworld that paradoxically demands the listener's attention albeit graciously.
Based on rating 8/10
London collective Sian Alice Group are something of an OCD sufferer's nightmare. While many of their more forward-thinking compatriots transcend the odd genre or two, Sian Alice Group simply confound categorisation in any way, shape or form. To dismiss them as shoegaze revivalists, post-rockers or mere folk experimentalists is a major disservice. In fact, across its 13 incidental pieces, Troubled, Shaken Etc.
Based on rating 6.1/10
People tend to think of Sian Alice Group as shoegaze, but really, they're a post-rock band. One can hear traces of Tortoise and Godspeed You! Black Emperor in their sound, and there's an aesthetic and structural seriousness to how they present themselves on record. Take last year's mostly very good 59.59, which featured time-stamped instrumental intermissions separating each batch of its rock-leaning tracks.