Like blind men in a theater, we’re taken through a cinematic story of sounds: Lush vistas of synth and layered orchestrations, courtesy of Brian McKenzie, pillow strong operatic vocals from Claudia Gregory, whose voice is rarely off-pitch and acts as a striking complement to the vast soundscapes. Most tracks have a spaghetti-western influence ripped from a time when western films were dominant in cinema. You can see a silhouette amble toward the sunset as “March Towards the West” and “Gunslinger” fill your ears. Other tracks are haunting (“Even the Blue”), and some are daring (“Synoyi Edohi”), but they all tell a story. In this world, songs and stories are one and the same, and sounds and visions bounce through your head like tumbleweeds on a barren plain. From title screen to closing credits, this album is a film to appreciate. ~ CJ Morgan, Slug Mag Feel No Other is another project of Brian Lea McKenzie (Electric Bird Noise), also featuring Claudia Gregory of Exhaust the Fox and Claudia Versus the Queen of Hearts on vocals. A melodic, song based album, this is more immediately accessible than Electric Bird Noise's latest offering. It shares the cinematic feel of Electric Bird Noise, but whereas EBN has the sound of incidental music, Feel No Other is like theme songs from epic movies. Claudia's powerful singing voice complements perfectly the creative, intelligent and sophisticated music which draws from a variety of styles from synth-pop to Americana whilst retaining a sense of coherence. Gunslinger is a song both powerful and melancholic, set to a combination of Wild West movie soundtrack and industrial percussion. Eclipse has the feel of a torch song, but minus the straightforwardly romantic subject matter, sung in a semi-operatic vocal style over a bleak, sparse synth backdrop. Svnoyi Edohi is off-centre synth-pop with unpredictable changes. A really fantastic debut from Feel No Other, comprising a highly creative form of pop music for people who think outside the box. Available from www.silbermedia.com ~BLISS AQUAMARINE Brian Lea McKenzie, who’s best known for his work in Electric Bird Noise, has a number of various musical projects including Feel No Other, a collaboration with Claudia Gregory of Claudia Versus the Queen of Hearts and Exhaust the Fox. The project started in 2009 when McKenzie started composing instrumental material that he felt needed strong female vocals; However, it took about two years for things to jibe but the sound you hear off “winter is all over you,” the first single off their self-titled debut manages to sound simultaneously cinematic and intimate, contemporary and yet old-fashioned — at it’s heart, it’s part David Lynch soundtrack and Joan Baez-era folk song, as the song has a haunting, unsettling beauty. ~The Joy of Violent Movement