Institute - DistortYourself

Tue 23rd Aug, 2005 in Music Reviews

All you Bush fans out there! There is a treat waiting for you! A new album Distort Yourself by Institute, a collaboration by guitarist Chris Traynor (Helmet, Orange 9mm),  bassist Cache Tolman (Rival Schools, CIV), drummer Charlie Walker and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale himself is here.

Gavin explains the title Institute as referring to ‘cultural collective’ which couldn’t be closer to the truth. Between the four members, they have years of experience and, with the help Helmet’s Page Hamilton in the producers role, the end result is a sound of powerfully deep, heavy rock.

Bullet Proof Skin, the first track, is to be the first single. It does nothing to ease you gradually into the new sound, rather it throws you seemingly against a wall and waits for you to wake up and take notice of what’s smacking you around. When Animals Attack appears to have a Jane’s Addiction influence to it, and it’s no surprise that Page had a hand in the creation of this baby. With a kind of cutesy intro, followed by a hard up lyrical and musical masterpiece, it is definitely a track worth cranking the volume until you break windows.

Come on Over has distortion and a big, fat riff that makes you feel like your head is about to explode from the tension. Slow and heavy, it is very intense and is one of the ‘strangest beauties in the strangest places, strangest beauties in the empty spaces’ that is mentioned. Information Age I think is the most Bush-like track on the album. I didn’t really want go down comparison lane, but seeing as both bands are unique in their own right and just happen to have the same singer, I’m allowing myself the pleasure. ‘Distraction in waves…can’t see the final way out…we’ve been betrayed.’ It’s just one of those tracks that you want to scream along to. ‘Information age, system overload.’

Wasteland lets you take a bit of a breather, it’s not quite so heavy, but definitely profound. There seems to be a certain awareness revealed as an ocean of emotion is poured out. This one is an awesome display of genius. Boom Box is another not-so-intense track. Rotating between rock and mellow-rock, it seems to be a reprise over and over and over, if you get my drift?

Seventh Wave was good, but nothing really to dwell on. The Heat of your love is very big, bizarre and peculiar. Bizarre in the sense that it’s structure is not like the other tracks. Words and sound don’t meet nicely in the middle, instead they do their own thing and finish in a kind of organised chaos. Ambulances takes it down a notch with a beautiful and emotional journey ’....and if I plead insanity, can I still crash at your place.’ It is an unexpected treasure amongst all the anger and violence of the other tracks and however out of place it may seem, it fits perfectly.

The last few tracks Secrets and Lies, Mountains and Save the Robots delve back into the original sounds, though not with quite as much coercion. They are kind of like a really long outro. Not saying they are bad either, it just leaves you hanging, thinking that there is still more to come when in actual fact you should be winding down. They are quite intimidating in the way they convey so much toil and passion but don’t leave you drained of energy. The way the album has been constructed is pure craftsmanship, and the grouping of these particular tracks from ‘the best of the bunch, says Gavin, ‘represents me and the guys that are in the band Institute.’