Insomniac Folklore
Everything Will Burn
(Self-Release)
Everything Will Burn is a dreamland of darkness and wonder. Blending Americana, folk, metal, and punk, Insomniac Folklore present a concoction of sounds that linger with mystery. While the band is known for their following in the world of steampunk, Everything Will Burn takes a more realistic approach to the dark side. Weaving in ancient history and science fiction, the group shares tales revolving around many of today’s struggles, never becoming overly political. There is a variety of instrumentation on display within Everything Will Burn. Everything from guitar, synthesizers, a stomp box, and even cow bones make an appearance on the record. There are a good three to four songs that, minus their slight difference, come off quite similar to one another. In these cases, the tempos are hovering right in the middle, maintaining that consistency and not ever shifting or loosening up. This issue goes for both the instrumentals and vocals. As a whole, however, the album successfully displays an aura of mystery to keep listeners ready for what comes next in each song.
The record begins with “Tetrad Pt 1 – The First Passover”, an instrumental track with metallic knocks and beats, creeping its way out like something from a David Lynch film. Following up with the title track “Everything Will Burn”, the guitar introduces a hip flow, the vocals shifting from bass heavy, to higher pitches. “Feet In The Earth” picks things up, rising the tempo and tossing in upbeat vocal inflections. This meets brief moments of violin, combining with the guitar and bashing drums, creating one of the record’s catchiest songs. “Dust” is a welcoming new twist, wandering its way in with distant vocals, the instrumentals creating an eerie wobbling. The song drops into a thick distorted groove, adding a vibrancy to the material’s minimalism. Towards the end, the vocals erupt in a sinister fashion, producing a thunderous effect.
“Live Until I Die” is a minimal track that primary focuses on a twangy aura, and use of the concertina. At this point, the vocals do become monotonous in tone. “Heart” strips more at the very beginning in terms of instrumentation, and while it builds up at times, it creates more of a space for emotion to linger. There is a consistent beat that suddenly drops out, leaving an emptiness that leads the vocals to rise in tension. Material like “Feet In The Earth” and “Dust” provide a much welcomed boost to the record after quite a few songs that keep to the same pace in a row.
It would have been nice to hear more chemistry with the vocals, along with more tracks that experimented with picking up the intensity and tempo. What Insomniac Folklore successfully pull off though is presenting emotion and aura throughout each work. The range of instrumentation helps keep some level of freshness within the record, creating a mesmerizing mindscape of sounds. In the end, Insomniac Folklore’s Everything Will Burn provides just enough to keep folks intrigued in its looming feelings and auras.
