REVIEWS

Avi Ghosh
Severing the Tie

Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

After releasing several albums digitally with his band dEFY, Avi Ghosh continues the practice with his debut solo album, Severing the Tie. Stylistically, it can be argued that the songs are more introspective, stemming more from dark emotions Ghosh has experienced during a tumultuous time in his life that has lead to the indefinite hiatus of dEFY. While it can be argued that this is a standard formula for good old-fashioned angst-ridden industrial rock in the tradition of Nine Inch Nail's The Downward Spiral, Ghosh does well to give his music just the right mix of adrenaline-induced rage with thoughtful lyricism, keeping it from sounding like the juvenile ranting of another poor unfortunate soul begging for attention. Interesting to note are the subtle vocal effects Ghosh utilizes throughout, from the glitch effects that underlie "Eat Me Whole" to the slight pitch-shifting effects in the tail end of "Better Off Alone" and the chorus of the title track, demonstrating a conservative sense of the musical arrangement, never delving too far into histrionic effects for their own sake. Also noteworthy, once again in the chorus to "Severing the Tie," and in the melancholy "The Last Song," is an excellent sense of melody and its juxtaposition with crushing power chords and pummeling percussion as in "Don't Count on Me Anymore" and "Narcissistic Design" recalls the best coldwave moments of the '90s – i.e. 16volt and Chemlab. And as if to push the Nine Inch Nails comparison just a little bit further, the sullen piano melody of "It All Makes Sense to Me" sounds like the best song Trent Reznor wishes he could've written. Few tracks exceed the four-minute mark, making each song concise enough to keep from becoming overbearing or uninteresting, and the production is top-notch, especially for an independent effort. The electronics and the acoustic elements are mixed remarkably well, with no one element taking over the other and flowing smoothly through one's ears. It's records like Severing the Tie and artists like Avi Ghosh that prove the effectiveness of producing music in the digital age and offering hope for a scene in dire need of intelligent songwriting and musicianship.