Plague Accommodations

Thank You Scientist

This will most likely be quite quick, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on the new Thank You Scientist EP released not too long ago. I caught wisps of them here and there through social media and with this new EP, Plague Accommodations, I wanted to make my formal introduction to the New Jersey band. They operate in this rock fusion lane, but also incorporate some popular progressive metal rhythms and sounds. Now I must say, every single one of these musicians can rip. The drummer flows between their jazz chops and the more pummeling double bass drum work associated with metal. The violinist shreds an impressive solo on Soul Diver. The band is also freakishly tight; one example being the beginning of Gigglebutton where the guitar and saxophone are so freakin' locked in, that it sounds like just one instrument. At least I think there is more than one instrument, it's honestly really hard to tell. On the technical side, all the sounds are so crisp and the production is super clean, allowing me to hear every element that is going on. Nothing is buried or hidden, which is a feat considering Thank You Scientist is made up of many musicians all playing very intricate parts.

Unfortunately, this is where my praise kind of meets the end of the road. I feel this band is an illustration of how incredibly talented musicians don't necessarily make the most captivating music as I very quickly realized that this is not really for me. I've been trying to get a little more into jazz and fusion as of late, and besides the subtle metal influences, I'm not really seeing anything new or exciting about what the band is doing on these four tracks. Even during the more metal parts, the production and the sounds are still very clean, failing to build any interesting tension whatsoever. With how many instruments that are incorporated into the fold, I would have loved to hear them make a little more of a racket, get a little messy, challenge the listener a little bit. However, everything is just too precise and too flashy (in the more traditional, normative sense) that it's hard to see the fun in it. Although that is just my personal taste. If you on the other hand are looking for some pristine, rockin' jazz fusion with a little hint of progressive metal, than I would go look this up.