Album Review: Armchair Insomniacs

Originally released a year ago, this is still a solid and credible album, with the band deciding to put it on 180 gram vinyl.

In an age when the word ‘diverse’ is rapidly becoming overused, this is a diverse album. The band’s Bandcamp page lists their genres as ‘Alternative pop’, ‘indie pop’, ‘alternative’, and ‘Auckland’ which adds to the diverse element.

This 9-track album opens with Frequency which builds beautifully, it really is the best song to open the LP with. Pulsing drums lead the way as a procession of guitars unfold over the top. Track two, Conversation, is an obvious pop hit at 3:43 long and hitting the chorus within a minute, then following a perfect pop structure.

Broken is rockier, more indie rock, than indie pop as it’s driven by fuzzed out guitars and not fuzzed out drums, while Sail On provides yet another plot twist with electronic instruments, before developing into a full song complete with a ‘na na na’ chorus.

Big Country Dream begins with a beautiful gentle and melodic piano piece before morphing into an up-tempo electronic number.

This self-titled release is a romantic album and it’s really well produced. Although it is musically diverse, the slick full production ties it all together exceptionally well. The overall theme being pulled together by similar elements reminds me of a collection in a fashion show. One central narrative brings together a host of different threads.