aaamusic | On 22, May 2011

It’s evening. You’re kneeling at the mouth of a ditch in an empty field. A shovel and a pile of dirt lay to your left. In your right hand there is a time-capsule. It is marked 1995. You open it up and buried deep inside is the cassette album Feeding Time from Wayter. This album stands as a testament to a genre that developed in the ‘80’s and gained full notoriety by the late ‘90’s. Feeding Time is basically a more angsty adaption of a Smashing Pumpkins album; is this too high an accolade? Possibly -but there is definitely something there that captures the imagination. It is the instances of quiet within the raucous noise that manages grab a hold of the listener’s attention. The haunting vocals, continual crashing cymbals and clean picking over distorted guitar lends itself to alt-rock era whilst dischordal harmony and effects that makes a guitar resemble the sound of a tolling bell (Twenty) lean to influences from the present day. As the album unravels it becomes clear that Wayter value noise above all else as the vocals become unperceivable (Parachute) and sound takes centre-stage. The last track on the album (Lima) is definitely the culmination of all their efforts. As with all artists, Wayter came down with a mild case of ‘last-song syndrome’ as they finally had the confidence to show who they really were. This last track throws up sounds from distortion peddles, conversational samples, trumpet blowing catastrophes and feedback all in a glorious seventeen-minute haze. It is definitely this last track that proves the band is much more experimental than the album fails to let on. Feeding Time is a positive listening experience and perhaps the next album will embellish on these sparks of creativity.

Author: Angel Lambo