The Alps
III
Release Date: Oct 14, 2008
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Type
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Album Review: III by The Alps
Excellent, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
III, the first studio album by The Alps is a drug store bottle’s worth of dark mystery, foreboding and uncertain, yet tantalizing and mesmeric. Riding a mighty mellow vibe (not unlike the rusty tripadelic grooves on the Mighty Mellow compilations), The Alps are a threesome comprised of visual artist Scott Hewicker, the underrated Tarentel’s front man Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (who also records moving ambient solo works), and Alexis Georgopoulos, a former member of Tussle and the creator of fine works of subtle minimalist komische as Arp. Combined, the gentlemen have a hell of a lot of talent between them, and this is the rare instance where that pays off.
Opinion: Excellent
The Alps’ previous two releases, Spirit Shambles and Jewelt Galaxies, were pulsing, ramshackle affairs guided by an urge for group-mind merge through improvisation and rudimentary recoding set-ups. III is the trio’s first studio work, and is another thing altogether. The group has tightened up its meandering, either teasing out and arranging its elements into tight, rhythmic grids and song-like arcs, or whittling down its more abstract tendencies to their essentials.