Impostor Syndrome - Single Review: The Shrink
Chameleons: Imposters of the reptile world.
Imposter Syndrome: Chameleons of the music world.
Their sound, not their skin, shifting to match their influences, or if not their influences, then mine.
The Hole In Your Head was hard-hitting futurist punk from an alternate timeline where the principles of punk were high-production values, and tight performances.
Ok. Imposter Syndrome are a punk band.
Notion was like taking Shihad at their softest, but playing it like Shihad at their... Uh... Shihad-est.
Ok. No. Imposter Syndrome are a rock band.
My previously favourite track Mercury in Retrograde was a Pink Floyd The Wall era track if Roger Waters had isolated himself from the world in post 9/11 world.
Nope. Imposter Syndrome are a psychedelic rock band.
Then, just when I thought I had their sound down, they release The Shrink.
My new favourite, this song takes the punk of The Hole In Your Head, then layers that wibbly bass from A Perfect Circle’s The Doomed, Piano lines from Nine Inch Nail’s The Fragile era, and swelling atmospheric guitar and complex drum arrangements from Tool’s H and Aenima. It’s like putting on a mosaic tile floor made of my favourite 90’s alternative rock albums.
They say that when you’re happy you focus on the music, when you’re down the words. I’d comment on the lyrics, but at this point the song is too enjoyable. I can feel the disillusionment in vocalist Culleton’s voice, but for now, I can’t hear why. But I will. This track isn’t leaving my playlist any time soon.
Simultaneously delicate and destructive, The Shrink is Imposter Syndrome at their most pensive, and their hardest. The band are thinkers, experimenters, and explorers. They bear the bloodline of their now nostalgic forefather’s, without following their footprints into the world of tribute. They forge their own path.
I’m excited to see which path they take next.
Five of five stars.
About Impostor Syndrome
Impostor Syndrome is an experimental recording project, whose wide range of influences challenge the idea of what is commonly heard within the confines of New Zealand Progressive Rock. The band is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and blends alternative rock with film score and spoken word, described by muzic.net.nz as ‘Industrial meets Depeche Mode’. Becoming best of friends as seventeen year olds over a shared love of Alice in Chains, it took until 2019 before vocalist Ryan Culleton, drummer Scott Nicolson and multi-instrumentalist Shannon Coulomb were to create music together as a unit.
The 2020 pandemic gave the trio an opportunity to further their learning and experimenting of recording techniques, resulting in an album’s worth of music to be released in 2022. The pursuit of expression and boundless creativity, drawing from a wide range of influences, continues to be the central motivation for the band. They have also been converting a garage into their own recording facility that will no doubt keep the band busy for years to come.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Impostor Syndrome
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