Well on his way to becoming one of the most frequently featured artists on our website, DIY Australian artist Imbred first came to our attention with the release of a rough-cut two-album saga, with the companion pieces of ‘Love’ and ‘Creep’ taking to Soundcloud earlier this year. A balance of darkness and light, love and hate, the two albums showcased two distinct sides of the artist's mindset, along with a clear impression of his sound, style, and progress so far.
Before taking to Soundcloud to showcase his music, Imbred was potentially one of the most prolific underground artists on the Australian scene, at one-point writing and recording thirteen albums in a single year. While most of his early albums have been lost to his musical archives, there are a few chosen songs that Imbred has kept in the spotlight, collecting them up and releasing them as ‘Prima’, a unique collection of early recordings.
Written and recorded without a proper microphone and with rough, minimalist mixing, ‘Prisma’ captures the early essence of Imbred’s creative process, tracking a history of heavy-rock expansion through ten carefully selected tracks. A frantic maelstrom of guitar riffs, early grunge aesthetic, and unexpected voice breaks, you can hear the growing Nirvana and Pixies influences that would colour his later releases. Careening between the two styles that are more fully developed in ‘Creep’ and ‘Love’, this early release has less of a cohesive feel, largely brought about by the dynamic shifts in production and quality that emerge. One moment you’ll be enraptured by the distorted punk-rock guitar of ‘Asleep’, and the next you’ll be hit by a wave of abrasive static and whaling vocals in the likes of ‘Heart’ and ‘Anaesthesia’, setting of an imbalance that you never quite recover from.
Perhaps more of a historical significance than musical value, ‘Prisma’ is an early calling-card that has set the tone and sown the seeds for many new and more evolved albums. Without question, the quality of both his songwriting and production has improved since the songs on ‘Prisma’ first came to be, and the bare bones of the songs still scream with potential. The same flaws are consistently present, but the instrumentals and lyrics frequently speak for themselves, ultimately asking the question, why hasn’t Imbred found himself a vocalist, a band, and really made his music complete?
Score: 5/10
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