Mine Canary - Sentinel

          Being that Mine Canary somehow became a staple of the Daedalus pages, yet never properly reviewed, I figured I would step to the plate. Unlike Daedalus, I have heard Mine Canary before. I have seen them perform. We don't talk or hang out, they don't know my name any better then I could point them out of a crowd.

          Although electronic music is generally not something I seek out, it is by no means something I despise based on principle. When Daedalus posted this "review" of Mine Canary, it sparked a question. If somebody were to dissect, scramble, and reassemble the electronic entrails of a handful of kids' toys, could the result be called music? Could this person be called a musician? I thought back to any electronic music I know, at least well enough to cite as comparison, do I consider these people musicians? Daft Punk? Yes. Aphex Twin? Yes. Stockhausen? Yes. Gerogerigegege? Not quite. But, why shouldn't Mine Canary get the same consideration? Now before you get carried away, I am not saying Mine Canary is on the same level as anybody I just mentioned, but I can see hints of similarities.

          The album, which can be streamed or downloaded for free here, is fairly well rounded. "Sentinel" opens strong, waivers a bit in the middle, but closes even stronger. "Dance of the Morlocks," "Lair of the Minotaur Pt. 1," and "Victory" stand out as highlights. (This section might seem slightly hurried or glazed over. This is not the case. It's just that due to the lack of lyrics or instrumentation, it leaves little to interpret or breakdown. I'm not going to analyze noises and tell you how I like these noises over here, but not those noises over there.)

          There are some drawbacks to producing music in such a niche genre.  Although the album carries a decent ambiance throughout it's entirety, music without lyrics, or even a progression of some sort, falls into the background quickly. Even though I enjoyed the album, I easily found myself focusing on different things, a conversation, a news article, even at one point, starting a Youtube video, forgetting it was playing. I always listen to a new album straight through once, marking my first-off preferred tracks before returning to them for a second or third play-through. Yet, with an album like this, going back to listen to specific tracks can feel more tedious then exciting when you realize the tracks you liked were just your "favorite bits of noise" on the recording. I'm reminded of early Aphex Twin, if you take out the structure and replace it with industrial grinding.

          They have a long way to go when it comes to honing their craft, but for what they do, Mine Canary does it well.

Icarus