Teratogen’s frayed musical roots are on display on “You’re Not Here.” Frayed meaning eclectic and drawing from an interesting spectrum of sounds and styles to craft something that sets it apart from a lot of indie rock right now. Its chord progressions echo the jangle pop of 1980s “college rock” bands especially R.E.M. in the breezy yet urgent, chiming leads, the use of a minor chord shift to emphasize a change in structural dynamics during the chorus in which the title of the song is repeated is reminiscent of The Call and the noisier, more aggressive yet melodic aspect of the song may remind some of Hüsker Dü or Wipers. The paired couplets in the verses sketch a scene for us of someone whose mind is haunted by the memory of someone loved and dearly missed but someone who isn’t going to be returning any time soon if ever. Yet, the song isn’t melancholic in its fast pace and gentle intensity. It’s as though it’s a purging of those lingering attachments. The song comes to an unusual ending with a short section of trippy, minimalistic, noisy soundscaping that sounds almost like a synth but likely guitar allowed to drone out with volume swells. Nevertheless it breaks the pace and sounds like the shoveling off of an outmoded frame of mind. Listen to “You’re Not Here” on Spotify and follow Teratogen at Bandcamp linked below where you can also give the band’s new album Terrible Cloud a listen and perchance buy a copy for download.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
You must be logged in to post a comment.