22 Nov 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Impostor Syndrome - Single Review: The Shrink

04 Aug 2020 // A review by Peter-James Dries

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.

Rating: ( 5 / 5 )
 

About Impostor Syndrome

Soundtracks to experiences. ~ "The band are thinkers, experimenters, and explorers. They bear the bloodline of their now nostalgic forefathers, without following their footprints into the world of tribute. They forge their own path." - muzic.net.nz

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

Releases

Oriens
Year: 2022
Type: Album

Other Reviews By Peter-James Dries

Ra Charmian - Album Review: Waiata Wairua
08 Oct 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
Waiata Wairua is an album that wouldn’t feel out of place performed in a late night jazz hall in some alternate history where the successes of the Maori battalion lead to a proliferation of Te Reo worldwide. The sort of interest that saw your dad singing in French in the 60's, when Mireille Mathieu was knocking about.
Read More...
Ben Lloyd - Album Review: Leap of Faith
26 May 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
For over 30 years, this self-taught rocker from Mt Maunganui has been writing music. Now, for the first time since 2013, we finally get to hear his songs.
Read More...
Yann Le Dorré - Album Review: The Circus is Closed
19 Dec 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
“We are Sex Bob-Omb and we're here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff!” - Scott Pilgrim vs.
Read More...
Sanoi - Album Review: Echoes Of Home
25 Nov 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Electronica offers no escapism for me. It’s more of what I already have.
Read More...
Throng - EP Review: Decoherence
20 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
You know that thing where the letter B has a personality, or words have textures and colours? That’s called synaesthesia.
Read More...
Fortress Europe - Album Review: Old World
10 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Have you ever been torn between listening to Mozart or Periphery? Does Epica have too much of that darn singing for your tastes?
Read More...
Yurt Party - Album Review: Yurt Party
07 Sep 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
It sure isn't summer, and this is really not the Balkans, but Yurt Party’s new self-titled album refutes that. Back with another one of them Balkan rocking beats, Yurt Party’s debut is jazzy, erratic, and full of zest and energetic grooves, with flavour notes of ska, dub, and bergamot.
Read More...
day13n - Album Review: /7/13/7/
06 Aug 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
I’m too old for this world. We’ve devolved to the point where music is only as good as the soundtrack to your 10 second TikTok, and the thirty thousand copies recycling the idea.
Read More...
View All Articles By Peter-James Dries

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem