Digital Exile began as a desire of two friends to make music together. A couple of strategic recruitments and lots of the predictable precursors to a debut LP later, we have Subtlety. The band advertises themselves as progressive rock, and they mostly get that right.
Subtlety carries with it a, well, subtle groove that maintains a consistent, yet restrained catchiness that permeates the record. With this groove comes vocals from Jonny Hopwood that are often a dead ringer for something we’d hear from Cake. Hopwood is great when he stays in his range, but the caveat is a monotonous tone that will grow on some while being an instant turn off for others. The vocals set the tone, giving us a false sense of monotony for the rest of the instrumentation. Pay attention, though, and you’ll see that this isn’t the case.
A tasty bass groove draws us into the opening track “Once Upon a Time” while the best guitar bridge thus far in the record occurs in “Black Cloud.” The talent definitely matches up with the passion in this regard. Gabe Chase’s drumming is powerful – but the production could have accentuated this more, I feel like. “Idiosyncrasies” instrumentally sounds like it could be the intro to a Rage Against the Machine song – definitely a positive thing! I can hear the Incubus influence throughout – in the fast songs as well as the acoustic “Winter Solstice.” Song placement is a strength, such as the transition from the awkward to awesome “Pendulum” to the more quietly elegant “Autumn Bloom.”
The most obvious strength of Subtlety is the lyrical content. Spirituality is abundant, albeit more obviously in some places than others. Overall, the lyrics read like streams of consciousness, wavering from unabashed proclamations to philosophical ponderings. In “Council of Heretics,” they waste no time in getting to the bluntly deep statements, singing “Lost all taste for originality; stuck in a trance, misplaced morality. We all fall victim to the lies we’ve undergone” in an allusion to doing battle with one’s sin nature while “Pendulum” is an exploration of the ebbs and flows of one’s faith. Consider the whole record a pensive meditation on the various facets of a faith journey.
Subtlety is good in a, um, subtle way. While I don’t feel I can honestly give this album a stellar rating I do feel obliged to prod you in the direction of this band. Hopefully you’ll go eagerly, not reluctantly.
RIYL: Cake, Incubus, pensive lyrics
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