Artist: Polyphia
Album: Remember You Will Die
Year: 2023
Genre: Progressive / Experimental /
Trap / Math Rock
God. Damn. It. Unfortunately, that is not an expletive leaning toward the total positive or total negative side of the emotional spectrum. It takes a whole lot from a new band to make me feverishly anticipate their new release. Polyphia did it. I enjoy their first two releases and love their last album. The build up to this one with the release of the YouTube sensation singles “Playing God” and “Ego Death” had me hooked. The third song they threw out, titled “ABC” did zero for me, but there was always the hope it wouldn’t end up on the album. I’ll explain why in a little bit. Remember You Will Die was unleashed upon the world in October 2022, but I intentionally ignored any digital formats of the full release until I was able to buy the LP. My goal was to sit and bask in what would I had planned to be my new favorite release. The vinyl dropped in May of 2023 and I patiently waited to listen to it without interruption. I’ve now immersed myself in it at least 8 times and…well…I’m torn. Let’s get into it.
We’ll start with the positive first. When this album is on, it’s mind-bending. For those not familiar, Polyphia are consummate masters of tones, production, instrumentation and are pound-for-pound one of the most imaginative acts in the broad realm of rock. Polyphia have a strength in writing ambitious, mesmerizing instrumentals. They utilize a cornucopia of genre influences yet retain the distinct auditory identity they’ve carved out for themselves. Their songs are exorbitantly overplayed but it doesn’t present as pretentious or just instrument-wanking for the sake of showing off. Every second of their music drips with laser focused intention to construct absolutely unique music. No other band sounds like them and this is the result of labor-intensive writing and production technique. As perfectly as this album is engineered and performed, it never feels robotic or stiff. They successfully avoid the trap set for bands that decide to use Pro Tools to make them perfect. Whether it’s due to intent or style, Polyphia do not sound cold or mechanical like so many others. They sound perfect, but still remain human. Somehow Polyphia keep their ultra-precise music almost loose sounding. It’s rather amazing. I’m not going to prattle on about the intense level of musicianship they possess. You can throw a dart at any of their songs and you will be instantly schooled at how talented Polyphia are. With zero doubt, the best and my favorite songs on this record are the instrumentals. The band remains fiercely original and the songs require multiple listens to delve into what they laid down.
Five out of the twelve songs have vocals from various guest artists and that’s where my deep problems with this record lie. I could do a breakdown of what the vocals don’t bring to each song, but it’s easier just to say that they sound out of place and severely unnecessary. Yeah, I know, who am I to say what a band should do creatively? But they’re my ears and it doesn’t sound right. Most of the performances are just bland. Shit, the song Chino from Deftones sings on hits like a throw away idea from his real band and almost sounds like he’s vocalizing to a different song. The truth is Polyphia don’t write for vocals, so having anyone to sing over their complex writing is a tough ask, and an unnecessary ask in my not too humble opinion. The aforementioned song “ABC” is a fusion of very technical progressive rock and kiddie-pop. I hated it my first play on YouTube and I hate it still. But, if it was one song with annoying vocals that was just tucked away deep on the record, I wouldn’t be down on this album so badly. It’s not the only one and the rest are just as irritating. My best guess is the band is doing what they want and their immense artistry is leading more and more down less traveled avenues. The band has had some vocals in the past, but the songs here just sound so damn out of place. I know people as creative as Polyphia can’t be kept in a restrictive box, but I just wish they would find another way to expand without resorting to vocals. Or, at least write songs that will compliment the vocals. This is my only issue with this album, but it’s a huge one. Unless my brain finally “gets it” at some point, Remember You Will Die will land far from my expectations of being the finest of 2023.
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