The Invisible Kid | The Entrance

FRESH BAKED
The Invisible Kid
The Entrance
2009 | Bikiniwax
A

The Entrance is one man’s foray into the trenches of Electronic Rock Warfare. A full length LP has been borne of late night weekend excursions into basement soul-explorations, spiritual subtext and a hit-and-run attack of beats and guitars.

For newcomers, this one man, Astoria-based Daniel Lee, aka The Invisible Kid, first came on the map back in 2002 doing a remix for UK trip-hop artists Sneaker Pimps for their hit single “Sick.” The Kid has spent much time since splitting his efforts both as a solo live DJ/Production Unit and reproducing his own material in live settings with supporting musicians. Since 2002 he has released a slew of remixes (most notably one for Laurence Colbert, ex-Ride) and his own debut self-titled EP released in late 2005. Now he delivers the payload, 14 original tracks via The Entrance.

To penetrate The Entrance one has only to synchronize their body and mind, parlaying their primal dance instincts to the grooves of opener “The Last Night” in order to realize the journey that lay ahead.

With its ominous premonition of Armageddon and hyper-crush chanting, you soon realize that you better be ready to dance your way into salvation or fall prey to the trappings of greed. The song’s commentary on the nation’s foreign affairs refrains from being accusatory, but is a warning to those who remain blinded in the dark. Sliding in effortlessly is “ITC (Keep the Light On),” a slinky little surf guitar melody that creeps up your spine against a foreboding tale of what mysteries lie above the clouds. The number opens your chest up a little as the cut-up drum track drops in, only to delay into “Amber” and then further dissolve into “New Rays.” Basking in its solar glory is short lived as you are quickly launched into the chord assault that is “Test Pattern Dreams.” It’s here that the album reaches its fighting weight; piano chords ringing out against the backdrop chimes of bell towers thundering deep over the valley. Drum fills align into a pattern, hard-biting visions start to overtake, the levels redlining. As the song reaches midpoint it strips down to just the beat and those driving open chords. Is it ambience or ambivalence? You can hear the robots commanding the human vocals, but what is human and what is programmed? Following, “The Shadow Academy” vents its frustrations out into absolute oblivion, whether it be through the lead guitar in the front, the bass in the middle… or the door in the back of your mind.

Obvious single “Where’d You Go” rebels against the greater powers that be, still driven by human concerns, relentlessly asking for answers to creation. It hits with a hard beat followed by an almost cynical, cyclical bass line. The questions remain. At a full 14 songs that is The Entrance, there’s no filler here. The shorter sonic-scapes that glide in on “Fountain” and “Greyfields” are welcome departures that add depth, not minutes.

Concerning depth with The Invisible Kid’s first full length, consider this: his Oxford influences and Manchester sensibilities have forged a bond on the floor of his basement studio, somewhere between the production sized talents of his electronic mind and his subterranean love for white-noise theatrics.

[The Invisible Kid's next show is March 4th at Southpaw.]

by Gordon Sharp

http://www.myspace.com/theinvisiblekid