Evert Snyman & The Aviary show a predilection for bucking the norm in their debut album Pruning in the Dark.
It’s defined by a dark-carnival kind of mania and menace, its sound bringing to mind images of murderous clowns and claustrophobic mirror mazes – the corruption of innocence, if you will.
The mechanisms behind this all are the result of an approach to music making and production that is becoming synonymous with Snyman, a constantly off-kilter brand of rock that isn’t afraid to abandon the very idea of a comfort zone.
“Pruning in the Dark” jumps head first into the madness with an almost threatening beat that soon gets joined by a jangling piano and buzzing synth line that create a palpable and spine-tingling tension which rides the song’s many swings and shifts with consummate ease, guided by Snyman’s sardonic vocals.
Tracks like “Fluff” and “Sir Richard Salt” follow suit with the former digging into addiction with a chaotic, frantic energy that threatens to outrun itself, while the perils of being selfishly uptight are given a jazzy undertone in the latter.
It must be said that the middle of the album drags a touch with intense song after intense song, pushing the listener back a bit, but that changes just before the end with the appropriately floaty “I’m On A Cloud”.
Following on from that and closing the album is a nine minute existential trip called “Pop Abortion” that ebbs and flows with a madness that feels like the culmination of everything that’s come before, as it offers answers to the deepest of our philosophical questions.
Pruning in the Dark immediately sets Evert Snyman & The Aviary apart from the majority of the local industry with a compulsive urge to push boundaries, that’s backed up by excellent composition and production.
Feature pic supplied by artist
