Album Review: Castevet - The Echo & The Light

Tiny Engines have once again delivered a unique slice "90's emo/indie" with Castevet's latest full-length 'The Echo & The Light'. From the start the band mix twindling guitars with rough vocals on 'Six Parts Summer', whilst 'Narrow Hallways' starts off slightly calmer but builds up to a decent use laid-back guitars but the band keep their post-hardcore origins intact.

Whilst comparisons American Football, Braid and The Appleseed Cast are at times easily identifiable, for example 'Model Trains' with its well-paced tempo, undistorted guitars and passionate vocals. In a similar fashion 'Bike Notes' goes off into a wallowing, tight-knit instrumental section that sounds identical to those bands, but the bands thriving energy comes out on top.

Nevertheless the airy build-up to aggressive conclusion on 'Lautrec' is much welcomed, as is the math-rock likeness of 'Midwest Values'. Whilst the bands variation throughout isn't wide, it is still admirable. At times they're rapid, whilst they can also be atmospheric. Additionally the bands structure and instrumentation must also be credited.

Whilst it may get lost in the shuffule with other bands in the genre who are revising the style; 'The Echo & The Light' is consistent, nostalgic and holds promise for both the band and genre.

4/5

'The Echo & The Light' by Castevet is available now on Tiny Engines.

Castevet on MySpace

Sean Reid