Review by Dom Vigil
Within the first few moments of Atlantis, I felt drawn to Soda Fabric’s hazy, fuzzy sound, and there’s absolutely no questioning why. The dreamy tone that is set on the beautiful instrumental first track of the album (titled “Neima”) sticks with the entirety of Atlantis, making it a very easy listen. By the time the poppy single “Teenage Illusion” comes in a few songs later, you’re bound to feel lulled into relaxation, but definitely not bored, by any means.
“Bitter Moon” is the first track on Atlantis that vocals are used in, and the transition from the fuzzy instrumentals in “Neima” feels so natural, that it’s barely even noticeable when the vocals finally come in, but in the best way possible. The way that the dreamy vocals come in feels natural, blending with the mellow sound a soft guitar tones seamlessly. I’m always a bit hesitant going into an album like Atlantis, which is admittedly very mellow and shoegaze, because (a lot of the time) the more laid-back albums can tend to get boring or repetitive, falling into the same songwriting pattern or blending together until suddenly, it’s over before you even had a chance to enjoy it. While there are a few songs on Atlantis that did tend to fade into the background for me, Soda Fabric are great at creating these little outbursts in between quiet moments, to keep you on your toes. A great example of this comes toward the end of “Bitter Moon,” when the loud distorted guitar comes in, building the song up before the explosive ending.
Where “Bitter Moon” and “Neima” are definitely more laid back and quiet, the following two songs, “Antonia” and “Teenage Illusion” are much more poppy and upbeat. At first glance (or to someone who may not be giving these songs their full attention) Atlantis may just seem like a quiet, laid back shoegaze album, but upon closer inspection, there is actually quite a bit of diversity in this album. “Antonia” sounds very similar to The Cure, but with softer, lower vocals, and “Teenage Illusion” is carried heavily by some great bass lines and pretty guitar hooks.
Atlantis is definitely an album that deserves a listener’s full attention, and should definitely be listened to from beginning to end to get the full effect of the journey in the songs. If you stop paying attention for just a moment, you might miss something great, like the big chorus in “I Don’t Wanna Save Your Life” or the gorgeous instrumentation in the nine minute long final track, “Atlantis.” There are ups and downs, but there are definitely more strong moments than there are weak ones on Atlantas, which makes it deserving of your full attention.
Rating: 4/5
Listen to “Antonia”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRNNjrGQeWA&pxtry=2