PSEUDO/SENTAI

Let's sink into these loonies world!

Pseudo Sentai is a truly interesting project whose music has no boundaries, in fact, I wouldn't dare to label their style because they are so eclectic, so in moments we listen to rock, electronic, avant-garde and even some catchier and poppier sounds. Now in this 2016 the band has released a new interesting album entitled Enter The Sentai, with eleven tracks that take us once again through a eperimental journey of original compositions that require open minds and maybe a special mood, because these guys always know how to surprise us with their songs. By the way, I would like to thank the same Greg Murphy for introducing me to this album some days before its official release.

Tracks 1 and 2 go together: 'Intro & Enter The Sentai'. Here we can immediately appreciate the band's energy and that personal style that in fact does not remind me of anyone else, it is a pure Pseudo/Sentai sound. I like the vocals a lot, they seem to be two singers at the same time, and well, the music is powerful, kind of metall-ish but without being metal. 'Desert Dessert' (The Fever) is an enigmatic track whose first seconds are calmer but full of tension, later it becomes heavier, rockier for moments, introducing wonderful bass lines and a great guitar solo, as well as a great vocal game.

The songs average lenght here goes from 2 to 6 minutes, these are 'short' songs regarding progressive rock, but well, I repeat, this band just make great music without boundaries and stereotypes. One of the long tracks comes with 'The Code Ocean'; another loony track that brings again energy and power that is greatly acompannied by a mellotron-like background. These kind of songs might appeal to some zeuhl and avant-garde fans, I'm afraid. 'Adaptive Manipulator (I Have No Mouth)' has a soft post-rockish beginning, however later it murphs introducing wonderful metal-like drums. I love the music, so complex but at the same time easy to dig (if you are in the mood) with some interesting changes giving us a rollercoaster of emotions in where you can enjoy from intempestive, powerful passages to relaxing ones. This is one of my favorite tracks here, greatly complemented by that mellotron sound.

The craziness at its best comes with 'Belle of the Cabal', which could be labelled as a rock metal song, a vertiginous one. 'Crowd of the Crow King' is a shorter track that continues with that heavy sound that gets us closer to metal, all the track by the way, let us know how trained and talented the musicians are. 'The Man / The Mill / The Machina' is a great track but its style reminds me of some emo- core bands, which doesn't mean I don't like it, but is another example of how eclectic they are.

'The Empyre (Rome 2.0)' is the longest composition, and I love the work of all the guys, great and addictive bass lines, dynamic guitar notes and powerful drums, as well as the great voices. Despite the short lenght of the songs, they manage to deliver to the listener several changes so the journey delight us with loads of nuances, textures and emotions. 'Baron Wasteland (The Sultan of Sulfur)' has a wonderful guitar work, addictive and entertaining at the same time. In moments the vocals remind me of Gentle Giant. This is how Pseudo/Sentai are, unpredictable but always interesting. The last track is 'Werewolf Casey' which is the one that better represents the hard rock style on this album at least on its introduction. Later it becomes more and more interesting and powerful once again. A great song to finish this cool album!

Another thing I would like to point out is that Enter The Sentai can be downloaded with the 'name your price' mode through Pseudo/Sentai's bandcamp, so please go and have a feast of original music.

Enjoy it!

Wondering where they want to go as a rock combo. This "Enter The Sentai" sounds like another creation that PSEUDO/SENTAI should have put their strength into. Indeed based upon pop / rock, colourful sound variations and melodic alterations can be heard via massive rock subgenres (metallic like Judas, tribal touch, psychedelic, or avantgarde), but their soundscape might have got remarkably influenced or have a massive inspiration by industrial grunge core or noise (like NINE INCH NAILS or Marilyn MANSON) and this musical phenomena confuse me definitely.

Each track is well composed and melody line is not so bad. There are two points I'd like to mention for them: first, we cannot get easily what they should have wanted to play in this album although plenty of musical elements they wanted to digest. It cannot be helped we assume they completed noisy pop tinged with progressive flavour. It's just pity they created such a powerful vibe. Second, eternal sound explosion could be expressed in this album I guess, but sadly Excessive digital effects for voices might spoil their musical goodness I'm afraid simultaneously.

Let me say this; their ability of creator is so good enough to make more simple, more sincere songs, even if not so complicated. Do believe they will get a definite progression and decision where they go.

PSEUDO / SENTAI is a unique musical entity indeed that is a bit baffling. The partners in crime Greg Murphy and Scott Baker have been conjuring up their own eccentric and eclectic genre bending musical weirdness since their formation in 2007 but only continues to up the sophistication of their approach to their semi-poppy, semi-proggy, always intriguing brew of musical madness. If i didn't know better i'd swear they are a more whacked out version of Muse, well maybe i don't know better and that's what they are, but one thing's for sure: these guys wanna do things their own way and for that, i salute them! BTW, this album is available free of charge so please take the time to indulge your audio frequency appreciations and enjoy it for it is a pleasing product of profound profundity that is fairly easy on the ears to boot.

BANSHEEFACE is their third overall full release and what started out intended to be their first five song EP evolved into a major concept album that took 5, yes FIVE years to finish. As with many prog artists, it's easier to visualize and conceive rather than create so the old adage that a great album is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration seems to be the case with BANSHEEFACE. As the ideas kept flowing so did the plot and ideas that poured through the fecund minds of these guys. Fast forward to 2015 and lo and behold - BANSHEEFACE is finally released! And it's wild. It's weird! And filled to the brim with all kinds of references to all kinds of creatures of their imaginary unknown world. There are three races: humans, likho and selkies and then there is a whole script of characters. It seems PSEUDO / SENTAI has gone all "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on us with ridiculous amounts of detail, but please take a deep breath and be assured that the focus of this detail isn't in sprawling epic musical movements. It resides in the storyline and the music itself, while very eclectic, is still quite easy on the ears and to grasp. The album is only 44:05 long so don't expect a triple album or anything that takes years to comprehend, however with a concept like the one on board here, perhaps it could warrant a multi-album time length.

Quantum Cardboard (1:53) is the opener and begins with helicopter sounds and quickly becomes a spastic bouncy electronica beat with some accompanying keyboards that build up intensity. This sets up a meteor landing on Earth and negotiations with The Loricle on how to retrieve it. There are no lyrics so you have to read the story to have any clue about the meaning whatsoever. Luckily you can totally ignore the story at first and just listen to the music.

Sleeping Closer to the Ground (3:41) begins with more strange electronic effects but then becomes a guitar driven rocker with lyrics and tells the story beginning with the funeral of BansheeFace, 33 years after she came from the underground worlds. It continues the story about her. Turns out she has goo that makes a clear shell around her. Whoah! Goo!

Terraformed Transcendence (4:26) is an indie rock sounding acoustic guitar rocker with keyboards and slightly off vocals that picks up intensity. This tells of Bansheeface's rise to power and how she used her powers to to so and all the escapades that ensued. Trying not to give away too much because there's too much to go into!

Immaculation (2:59) sounds a bit like a Daevid Allen rant on a Red Hot Chili Peppers album with a funky rapped type vocal style and lots of strange musical sounds coming from guitars and keyboards all dressed up in a proggy veneer with nice time sigs and a strange melodic development. This track gets into how the Bansheeface built the Holy Matmorphacity and the growth over the next 30 years and how the future technology allowed everything to be free and also about how she plants bombs under the cities to immaculate humankind.

Bansheeface (5:42) begins with some voices and then a nice hard rockin' guitar riff and drums. More hard sounding than other tracks. This track is about the Likho and how they destroyed many villages and how new technology has destroyed natural sun protection. It also continues the story about how the Likho were trying to assassinate the Bansheeface.

Trap of Assassination (1:27) is a short little oddly timed acoustic guitar track with fast percussion. Love the dynamics between the two. It changes into sounds that imitate bombs and gunshots. It ends sounding quite violent.

Black Matter of Machinations (4:05) is a more subdued almost ballad sounding track but still in an off kilter timing and symphonic sounding. The drums sounds a little too harsh for this track as it The Loricle doubts if murdering the Bansheeface was the thing to do. It's basically a contemplative track asking all the questions about The Bansheeface as there are many uncertainties.

Sleeping Closer (1:37) a strange noisy electronic number with female vocals at the beginning. Sounds like radio static and a swarm of angry hornets which represents a flashback to the funeral.

The Holy Metamorphacity (6:13) is a classic sounding prog rocker with heavy guitars, bass and drums. The vocals are quite nice on this as there are some good vox box workouts. This one goes into the soap opera of how the Selkies believe that the humans assassinated the Bansheeface and how all the politics involved have led to the start of a war.

A Taste of Endangered (1:25) is another short electronically led ditty that has some breathing as a rhythm and then breaks into a vocal section with good harmonies. This is Lution narrating the diminishing quality of relations between Selkies and humans and tries to resolve them through diplomacy.

Classic Tactics of Xenocide (4:12) starts off with eerie keyboards and crunchy guitars. This one reminds me of something Muse might conjure up but definitely sounds unique in approach. It breaks into a heavier rocker and tells about how the Selkies have been destroying the humans.

March of the Selkies (3:49) is another heavy rocker with cool time sig changes and simulates a Lord Of The Ring style Two Towers battle and all the havoc that ensues. As the humans battle the Selkies at the last major stronghold, they are utterly defeated. Nice guitar solo on this one!

Mound of Seed, Seed of Earth (2:36) is an energetic anthemic type outré that tells about how the famous mound is now in the shape of a tree and the album ends with the same rhythmic march as the album begins. There is a bit of silence before an acoustic guitar comes from nowhere at the end and strums chords for a while which fades out.

Let it be known, i never would have figured out this story without the tutorial attached or the help of Greg Murphy himself and to be honest, i still don't get it all! While i love the music on board here i think this is far too ambitious of a story to stuff into forty some minutes! I understand that these guys wanted to get this out and be done with it and not sit on it for decades but the whole concept seems like a mini-series like Battlestar Galactica or something! So i can't say the story is the driving force to listen to this one for me but it's still a rather nicely packed bonus heaped upon a musical delivery itself stuffed with all kinds of delicious progginess. The rhythms and interludes are all nicely dispersed and the whole album no matter how short does echo an epic type of feel to it. While it does seem like there could have more sound dynamics and more clear cut delineations between characters, it is a fun listen nonetheless considering and even though it sounds like it's a homemade production it had some collaborators with Colin Marston and Jeff Eber from Dysrhythmia lending a hand. Overall kind of an opera for hyperactive eclectic types. Nice!

Review nº 217

Pseudo/Sentai - Bansheeface

Another concept album by the superheroes Blue and Red, or Scott and Greg. Original as ever, the band planned something quite special from the very beggining. It feels like playing a retro videogame but slowly it gets progressive and turns into a weird pop, multi-layered rock featuring a hard psychological abuse of rhythmic boundaries. I feel these guys are listening too much to Cardiacs and stuff, really, the chord progression is far unusual and it could take some time to fully memorize a track if you're not paying the right attention. Hard to describe their music. Ecletic technical art pop with a tip of avant-metal background. Or maybe Crossover Prog, that's it. They got electronics, acoustic passages, and the main vocals reminds me of 30 Seconds to Mars, unfortunattely or not. Taliking about Mars, their music feels close to The Mars Volta sometimes... Anyway, this album is a trauma for me, because Greg sent me this material before the release and I got into a car accident while listening to his music. I think this is the perfect music for a spaceship drunk dwarf party at a mushroom shaped disco room. I wanted write a longer review but I'm feeling like PA's Allan Poe and currently I can only write short texts because of my unbalanced mental state.

"Bansheeface" is the 4th full-length studio album by US progressive/art rock act Pseudo/Sentai. "Bansheeface" was recorded in the period August 2013 to February 2014. Pseudo/Sentai was formed in 2007 by Greg Murphy and Scott Baker. The duo however waited until they had enough material and a drummer in the band, before they started releasing material under the Pseudo/Sentai monicker, and worked under the Patient´s Worth monicker until 2010. On "Bansheeface" the duo handles guitars, orchestration, programming, soundscapes, production, and vocals, and are helped out by Jeff Eber "The Herdsman" (Drums), Jon Ehlers "Arthropunch" (Bass), and Sawyer Schneider "Oak Sawblade" (Guitars). Colin Marston (Behold the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Krallice) acts as co- producer/engineer.

The music on the 13 track, 44:05 minutes long album is a bit hard to describe correctly, as it features many different stylistic elements. It´s undoubtedly progressive and I hear quite a few nods toward an act like King Crimson (80s/90s releases), when things are most avant garde/progressive sounding, but it´s usually more an underlying current in the music, which is generally very melodic and at times quite catchy, pulling more in an art pop/rock direction (I´m thinking a bit of Roxy Music and artists in that vein). Even when the band are most melodic and pop oriented, the music is still quite complex, with multible layers of sound, intriguing rhythmic playing, and a very sophisticated use of choirs, harmonies, and backing vocals to support the main vocal melodies.

So there´s no doubt that the material composition wise is of a very high quality, featuring many intriguing and innovative ideas, but also featuring the melodic sensibility which makes "Bansheeface" a relatively accessible listen even if you´re not a hardcore progressive rock listener. A successful combination which is further enhanced by the high level musicianship which is on display all the way through the album. These are obviously not just a couple of guys who met for a casual jam and recorded the session. In other words we´re dealing with skilled professionals who meticulously have gone through each of the compositions on this album to add the right details at exactly the right moments. Some releases end up a clinical listen as a consequence of such a process, but that´s not the case with "Bansheeface", which features an organic sounding production which pulls in the other direction and a hard rocking delivery which also provides the music with a more loose rock´n´roll feeling despite the attention to sophisticated details.

"Bansheeface" is a concept album telling a sci-fi/fantasy type tale of the goddess like creature the Bansheeface, the Likhos (odd looking creatures, protectors of nature), the selkies (half man/half seal), and the humans. The Bansheeface is plotting something evil, but is murdered by a Likho named Lution (seemingly as part of her evil plot), and war breaks out between the selkies and the humans, who blame each other for the death of the Bansheeface. In "March of the Selkies" the humans lose the war and are basically wiped out. That´s a simple overview of the story, which features more twists and turns and details if you investigate a bit further.

Upon conclusion Pseudo/Sentai has created quite an interesting listen with "Bansheeface". It´s an original sounding album, which is always an important factor, but it´s the combination of melodic sensibility and experimental/progressive ideas, which makes it a real treat. The wacky sci-fi/fantasy lyrics are pretty great too if you´re into that sort of universe, but even if you´re not the album can also be enjoyed for the music and the melodies alone. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

A project that has no boundaries!

This is Pseudo/Sentai, a project that started by the will of Greg Murphy and Scott Baker, who have been creating music with no classification, with no labels, and despite I am reviewing their music for progressive rock sites, I wouldn't dare to say they are a prog rock project, because you'll find eclectic elements that might describe their music as Pseudo/Sentai's music, no other band sounds like them. In 2014 they created a new album named "Bansheeface", a 44-minute length baby divided in 13 tracks.

"Quantum Cardboard" starts with a helicopter's sound and then the explosive electronic sounds and drums begin, it is like having a funny journey to NES games, because the sounds will remind you of some video games. "Sleeping Closer to the Ground" brings vocals for the first time, and with them, an inherent power. Here the electronic is not the main element, here rock prevails, not in a classic way, but with a nice blend of heavy experimental rock and avant garde. The composition is very well crafted, and it is easy to sing and get on well with the music, in spite of that heavy sound. "Terraformed Transcendence" has a kind of AOR sound, but again, the music is not easy to describe or classify. The best you can do, is simply listening to it and let it do the rest, I am sure you will enjoy it, because though it has some aggressive moments, overall it brings a friendly sound that anyone would enjoy.

"Immaculation" is a wonderful track due to its awkward blend of styles. First you will listen to some electronic beats, and then acoustic guitar accompanied by hip hop like vocals. The music flows and they bring us different changes, but all of them interesting. In some moments I even remember Adrian Belew's music due to the vocals, strings, and that heavy full of energy sound. "Bansheeface" is a magnificent track, here is easy to be delighted by the talent and craziness of these guys. I love how their sound makes me feel alive, furious, energetic, and intense, they bring me back to life, and believe me, it is not that easy to find music or bands who help you that way. "Trap of Assassination" is a very nice and experimental short piece that has a strange blend of acoustic strings and electronics, with a kind of western sound, and some video game noises at the end.

"Black Matter of Machinations" drastically contrasts with its predecessor, here the mood is softer, with nice vocals (lead and back) that sing over nice atmospheric keyboards, cool strings and constant drums. I think is a catchy tune, which does not mean it is less complex or interesting. After a couple of minutes the intensity increases, the music releases a monster that screams and all the hidden energy is spread. Wonderful track! "Sleeping Closer" is a short, wild and tense track with female vocals and electronic background. "The Holy Metamorphacity" is one of the longer tracks of the album, and one of the best as well. The music created is first class prog/avant/electronic/heavy/rock that your ears will greatly receive. I love the vocals, all together make a great sound, and I love that inherent energy that provides satisfaction to one's wishes. The drums are amazing, and what they create with keyboards is fantastic.

"A Taste of Endangered" is a short instrumental track whose first seconds take me somehow to the desert, while the second part takes me to heaven, celestial voices hehe. "Classic Tactics of Geoncide" has enchanted me, mainly due to its mellotron-like background which never ceases, but also due to the vocals, tense bass lines and in- moments-dramatic-sound. It is impossible not to enjoy it and also not to move our head. It is like a hypnotic tune. "March of the Selkies" has a lot of energy on it, is a heavy piece of rage. It is normal to remember some other acts, and though I said Pseudo/Sentai has its own sound (because they do have it), bands such as Sleepityme Gorilla Museum, Adrian Belew, The Mars Volta or Rain Delay came to my head while listening to the album. The album finishes with "Mound of Seed, Seed of Earth", a shorter piece that brightly closes a wonderful record.

I know this band might not be for everyone's tastes, however, I would suggest you to give them a chance, they have their music in Bandcamp, so listen to them and you'll understand better what I said on my review.

Enjoy it!

'Bansheeface' - Pseudo/Sentai (79/100)

I think there is something to be said for the kind of 'everything but the kitchen sink' progressive rock that seems to have fallen out of favour over the few years, provided it's in the hands of musicians who know how to wield it. Moreover, I'm most often impressed when a band dares to imbue pop sensibilities with a nigh-overwhelming complexity or attention to detail. Of the bands who come to mind at moment's notice, Queen is probably the best example who, in spite of having brilliant hooks worthy of being hummed along to enthusiastically by any soccer mom in between morning Zolofts and driving the kids to practice, earned some degree of infamy for the meticulous design of their arrangements and general snail's pace with which they produced their work. Given that Bansheeface has been a work-in-progress for the past five years, it's safe to say that Pseudo/Sentai deserve a share of some of this notoriety. And yes, while the music is undeniably experimental (occasionally taunting avant-prog territory), their music's always carried a strong melodic sensibility, no matter how chaotic it first appears. Bansheeface is, without a doubt, the most ambitious, layered and eclectic release yet from the young provocateurs, but so too has their strong pop essence benefited from the time and effort Pseudo/Sentai have invested in their craft this time around.

To a surprising degree Bansheeface still bears the proudly experimental imperfections that went a ways to defining Pseudo as early as the first demos, but whereon past work there was a clear gap between where they were and where they wanted to be, it feels as if Bansheeface is the first time the band's vision has been realized in a significant way. This is not to say that Pseudo/Sentai's EPs or debut It's Always A Fucking Problem weren't engaging, but the jarring aspects of their music often felt less like the vital side-effects of experimentation, and more along the lines of structural faults that the band had yet to rectify. Glorious, self-aware imperfection is what defined so much of P/S's music up to this point, and I do mean that in a good way. If my memory serves, Jon Poole of Cardiacs (whom Pseudo/Sentai's guitarist Greg Murphy admires as much as I do!) was quoted as saying something along the lines that perfection was repellent to him. Imperfection, by contrast (especially in experimental music) is often surprising and stimulating. There were technical issues I had with the earlier stuff, true, but Pseudo/Sentai's plain-weird fusion of modern prog with everything under the sun kept me on my toes.

That same gloriously imperfect experimentation is here on Bansheeface, but this time it's been coated with a level of polish and intention I'd never have thought to hear from them. If you need a basic idea of what Pseudo/Sentai sound like, think of what Coheed & Cambria (circa The Second Stage Turbine) might sound like if Claudio Sanchez had spent a year listening to Gentle Giant and wanted to make progressive rock of a similarly complex and eclectic nature. It wouldn't be out of line to associate P/S among the likes of so-called 'alt-proggers' like The Mars Volta and The Dear Hunter (and Coheed, of course) but that would only be scratching the surface of their style. The sheer eclecticism Pseudo/Sentai exhibit is naturally hard to pin down; they're not beyond echoes of 8- bit chiptune, flashes of metal and even noise (as heard in the would-be interlude "Trap of Assassination"). I think the thing that defines Bansheeface the most is the grappling sense of urgency and busyness; it takes little time to get started, and once it's gained momentum, it doesn't let up. Frantic guitar lines and multi- layered production (engineered by Colin Marston of Behold the Arctopus fame, no less!) give the impression of a whirlwind for the first handful of listens, though it's not long before that pleasant sense of familiarity sets in, thanks in large part to the album's lively hooks.

While it's a far cry from the quasi-grindcore microtracks that comprised There's Always A Fucking Problem, Pseudo/Sentai still relies on shorter tracks to express their point. I'm aware that these should be seen less as songs than as chunks of a seamless album-length composition, but the fact remain that Pseudo/Sentai take little time to make their point. The density of the band's music is one of their strongest selling points, though I found myself wondering while first listening to the album whether Bansheeface may have benefited from exploring a few of its better ideas at a more relaxed pace. Unsurprisingly, the most standoutish tracks are the more fully developed songs; "Black Matter of Machinations" is a fantastic example of what P/S can do when they lean on the conventional art of songwriting. Taking a driven route to atmosphere, Scott Baker's vocals (sounding close to some of the earlier mentioned alt- prog references) are finally given a chance to breathe amid the stifling arrangements- close comparisons could be drawn to their fellow East Coast proggers in The Tea Club.

The impression of fully fleshed songwriting tends to be an exception on Bansheeface, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like many excellent experimental acts, Pseudo/Sentai have thought it best to hinge their music on great ideas and moments over necessarily great structures. The album's Cardiacs-ish intro "Quantum Cardboard" is not only the best example of this but possibly my favourite bit on Bansheeface overall- the moment the drums light up over the quirky electronics is one of the most satisfying musical moments I've come across in recent months. Alas, other parts give me a strong opposite reaction. The pseudo-rapping at the beginning of "Immaculation" is close to [%*!#]ing unbearable (think Weird Al doing a Nintendo-themed Hip Hop album). It's thankfully an unmatched low point on the album- Bansheeface otherwise remains a respectable consistency with the success of its experiments. Even when I'm not altogether loving an idea of theirs (the noise-prone "Traps of Assassination" really feels out of place in the album's flow, for instance) Pseudo/Sentai have put enough meat on the bones of this album to keep me interested throughout.

For a band that's trying to do so many different things with an hour of music, I'm not surprised that there are parts of Bansheeface I don't care for. What matters to me is that I get the impression that the zany experiments Pseudo/Sentai have mustered were done so with passion and vision. Bansheeface achieves the fulfillment of vision I struggled to find on Pseudo/Sentai's past output. In doing so, I think it's safe to say the album marks a new stage in evolution and maturity for the band.

By the way, did I mention it's a concept album? Some wacky [&*!#] about alien political intrigue, man-eating Selkies and the eponymous Bansheeface, whom I might have been able to write a bit about had I understood a splinter of what the [%*!#]ing story's about. Ripe material for a graphic novel to go along with the special collector's edition, I suppose?

I'm another collaborator who was asked, directly by the band, to review this album. It is a privilege to be sure! Like the other reviewers, I would enjoy listening to Bansheeface even if I had not been specifically asked. I listened to a few earlier songs by the band, as a frame of reference, before starting to gather my ideas for this review. However, I can't talk at length about Pseudo/Sentai's other music. The general critical consensus seems to be that Bansheeface is as good, if not better, than Pseudo/Sentai's earlier albums.

Other reviewers have stated that they found it difficult to compare Pseudo/Sentai to other bands. My immediate reaction when I started to listen is that it sounded like System of a Down. That is definitely a compliment in my opinion. Specifically, the way the songs are written and structured and the harmonies are what brought System of a Down to mind. Of course, Pseudo/Sentai are not just a copy of another band; they are not as strident or lyrically obscure as our favorite Serbian metal band. Pseudo/Sentai are often labeled as sounding a lot like The Mars Volta. I don't know enough about The Mars Volta, who've always sounded too manic for my tastes, to make a good comparison.

On Bansheeface, Pseudo/Sentai mix industrial and electronic influences in with the other elements in their sound. My favorite songs on the album are probably the longer ones, which allow the musical ideas to develop. "The Holy Metamorphacity" and the title track are two of my favorites. There are even some good old-fashioned guitar solos on the album! Pseudo/Sentai is a group of undoubtedly talented people who have the skill to make the ambitious music they're aiming at. Bansheeface gets a very well-deserved 4 stars.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Greg on a recent visit to New York. I've spoken with him online for a couple of years and one thing that has always come across is that Greg's great passion in life is music, specifically creating it. But it is one thing to read something online, and another to speak to a person face to face and see the passion barely contained as they speak about what it is they dream to do. How the only thing they can talk about is how they are making their dreams come true, the problems they have anticipated and the means they have taken to circumvent these problems.

Throughout the course of my life, I have run across a number of other friends who have been involved in the making of music, but it is rare that the music they create interests me enough that I would listen to it even if they hadn't been involved in the creation of said music. Pseudo/Sentai is one such band, and I have been cheering them on since the release of 'Natures Imagination', which captivated me immediately with its sideways melodies, aggressive tones and layered vocals.

Bansheeface is definitely my favorite thing the band has done so far. They are still on the upwards crest, where each new album finds them refining their songcraft, improving their sound and tightening the arrangements, and I think with this album they have reached the level of quality where discerning music fans will begin spreading the word.

Pseudo/Sentai have never struck me as being a typical band, and in general I struggle to find a reference point for then - if there is another band they sound like, I have yet to stumble across them. They follow the spirit of the experimental/prog indie rock scene, without really following in the steps of any other band. One thing I am always wary of with experimental music are the bands that take the experiment more seriously than the music, recording anything that sounds new without relating it back to how it can be used to create new music. Pseudo/Sentai don't fall into this trap, taking back their interest in layered vocals, off-beat rhythms, dense, tricky-hidden-melody approach to guitars, and digital age sound effects and applying them back to what have been better and better songs.

Historically, P/S albums have consisted mostly of a lot of short songs (less than 2 minutes) with only a handful of tracks surpassing the 3 minute mark. Their last album had 22 tracks, only four of which exceeded three minutes. By contrast, 8 of the 13 tracks on this album surpass that landmark. With the extra breathing room the band has allowed themselves, they are better able to drive home the point of their songs, leaving more memorable impressions.

The title track (at the time of writing the only track from this album generally available) is an excellent example of this, leading with a catchy guitar riff, then quickly building up before introducing the main vocal line. I think this may be one of my favorite vocal performances by Scott thus far. I am not sure if he does the background vocals as well as the foreground, but the back and forth between the two provides great contrast, and the foreground vocal line have some great melodies with quick and tricky melodies. This is all of course built on top of the dense layers of guitar, base, and drums. I am not certain if the denseness is created by the sheer volume of layers presented, or a stylistic choice in the production, but it really helps give the song a big sound.

The short songs are still present, giving us little nuggets of either sonic tapestries or lighter melodies, working excellent as bridges between the more involved longer tracks.

While I doubt we will be hearing this kind of music on the radio any time soon, I can see this album catching on and Pseudo/Sentai growing in esteem in the internet music scene. For someone interested in truly fresh progressive rock music, this album must not be missed.

Pseudo/Sentai's latest (and strongest) effort, Bansheeface, continues the band's move towards increasingly captivating and consistent music, and from a homegrown sound to a more professional one. The album is unreleased at the time of writing, but has been made available by the band to reviewers, upon request. The music is modern and schizophrenic at times, and from the point of view of a Mars Volta fan (whose influence on the band is often noted) it seems to marry the heavy guitars/organ/drums dominance of early Volta with smaller amounts of the synths and electronics of late Volta (and late Omar Rodriguez-Lopez solo albums). That's not to say the album sounds overtly like The Mars Volta- the influence is clearly there and the basis behind much of the sound may be similar- but the actual musical content is very different, being usually stranger, more eclectic and wayward, and less epic/anthemic.

The album is divided between major songs and a number of small interludes. The interludes, mostly based on very noisy synths/programmed beats, don't really seem to add a great deal to the album, the most interesting one being the intro track 'Quantum Cardboard'- which, however, doesn't make a great album opener. The synths integrated into the tracks proper are a much more interesting use. There are also ambient/concrete music interludes attached to the end of various tracks (in the style of such interludes on early Volta albums) which feel similarly stuck-on. The real music lies in the full-length songs, from the driving 'Terraformed Transcendence' to the heavy and rhythmic title track and the dark ostinato-based 'Classic Tactics of Xeno'. These are all bombastic, pitting the weight of the rhythm section (drummer Jeff Eber from Dysrhythmia assists a great deal here) against the multiple clever little guitar licks and keyboard flourishes. The frenetic twists and turns of the songs are sometimes too much, with too little to cling onto, leaving tracks feeling inconsistent and uninteresting- on the other hand there are also plenty of great hooks everywhere which really make the album. 'The Holy Metamorphacity' is another top track, and the weird Zeppelinesque ballad 'Black Matter of Machinations', by nature of the style, is one of the most coherent. The closing tracks begin to feel a little overly familiar (even if featuring a great guitar solo). The weakest point is the vocals, which, while mostly very good (and often excellent, especially when sung high and gritty as on 'Terraformed Transcendence' and others), are occasionally weak, unconvincing, or out of tune, a problem not helped by not really being mixed to the foreground, where the music usually demands they be. Additionally the vocals at the beginning of the weakest track 'Immaculation', almost rapped in a comedic style, are an unwelcome addition.

Overall, however, this is a very exciting album, doing a good job of balancing the drive against the flourishes, and of balancing the weirdness against the hooks.