The Convocation

Album Review

This angular driving indie rock is fronted by the legendary Tonie Joy (of the late-'80s to early-'90s post-hardcore superstars Moss Icon), who bursts out sprawling and technical guitarwork that is nearly unmatched by others in his field. The opening track, "Solitaire," is one of the most well-written songs that this entire genre of music has to offer. The album's pervasive feeling — something anxious and somehow soothing all at once — is probably a result of the spastic guitar work meshed with aggressive and spacy sounds. There are yelped and mostly typical-sounding "indie" vocals and a solid rhythm section that mainly rides in the back seat of the maniacal guitar, which mainly consists of excellently written note-picked melodies rather than chords. This is a strong formation altogether, refreshing and compelling but not too far outside the lines. Fans of Unwound, Honor Role, the hal al Shedad, and other such discordant rock outfits will find this album to be quite fulfilling.