While I enjoy their music, and a lot of it is kinda experimental and different, I don't love these guys by any means. Idk why, its just hard to connect with emotionally to some degree.
I think I did them an injustice by listening to them without headphones and while trying to fall asleep. It was 9:30 AM and I didn't feel like staying up any longer, but I couldn't wait listening to them lol. I know I stayed awake for at least the first 5 tracks on Immersion, and they were all really, really well done. I'm glad they have a lot of instrumental tracks. The vocalist is average at best.
In Silico is only $10 AUD - thats cheap! I think I might go pick that up myself. LMAO! Its $17 AUD on iTunes. I will pick it up today or tomorrow. I'll also check out the live DVD.
What he lacks in vocals he makes up for in songwriting, although I personally think he's a pretty decent vocalist. A funny fact about Rob Swire is that he co-produced Rude Boy by Rhianna lol
If you have to make a decision, I would totally cop the live DVD over In Silico. Not that In Silico is bad (nowhere near so, in fact), but the live DVD is fucking insane.
I've always looked at Pendulum as being an instrumental act first and foremost and the vox always seems like kind of an afterthought, 'cause they put beats first. "Immersion" kind of threw that out, though, and Swire's singing is more prominent on that album than it was on "In Silico"; I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing ... Along with everything else in their music, Swire's singing is amazing live. Nowadays, I see Pendulum not as a drum & bass act, but a band (or production unit) incorporating drum & bass elements into a sound they've made their own. Agreed - but I think it'd be good to be at least a little familiar with the songs before you check out the live set.
I'd call Immesion a really good CD. Not great, though. I'm not a huge fan of always having a drum and bass or techno beat. I don't get why they try a bunch of different sounds, but don't use standard drums for an entire song ever. Maybe their old work utilizes them more. I haven't listened to them yet. The instrumental work is pretty damn good. I'm addicted already.
My brother got Immersion, not sure what else he got because he hid the giant pile of CD's and DVD's he brought in. Hopefully he got the DVD, and In Silico.
"In Silico" was quite big on live drums, but they've always used those sounds alongside sampled drums in some way or another. In a live setting, also, they use what I'd guess is a mix of live drums and triggered samples. Anything before "In Silico", though, is pretty much all programming. Like, the really early Pendulum stuff is just straight drum & bass. I like "Immersion" a lot but I still feel, at some points, it doesn't run well as an album - specifically, "Watercolour" being followed by "Set Me On Fire", that doesn't sound right ... and "Self vs. Self" doesn't fit with the other songs and really ruins the flow for me. :"
This is a bit of a necropost but since they're touring with Linkin Park, I'd like to know them more. So far, I really like "Propane Nightmare" but the rest I've heard so far is.....different. I can't say I hate it, but it'll take some getting used to.
"Immersion"'s a pretty good place to start. :" As a collection of tracks, it sums them up pretty well. Otherwise, check out some live performances on YouTube.
I swear Rob uses autotune of some type when they play live. There's just a lot of unnatural note changing going on.
There's alot of vocoders used both live and on their albums, that could be it. Care to give an example though?
Nevermind. Every instance of it there was a background vocalist with bad timing, making it sound like the notes would snap up or down when he finally got back on track. I didn't know he had backups even.