Bicurious – (re)constructed

By RingMaster Review on August 16, 2021 • ( 0 )

As with most instrumental encounters for us, it is the power to imply, incite and ignite the imagination which draws and excites maybe even more but certainly as much as the craft and invention behind it. Irish duo Bicurious have proven quite adept in that department with previous encounters and now they are about to unveil their debut album which to be fair leaves anything from them before deep in its shade.

Since emerging in 2016, the Dublin based duo of guitarist Taran Plouzané and drummer Gavin Purcell have drawn keen praise and a similarly eager following through singles and an EP as well as a live presence and tempting which has seen the band increasingly venture out from the shores of their homeland. They draw on the noisy, confrontational aspects of post, noise and math rock to try and pin down their sound but equally the melodic and adventurous traits of each flavour they embrace. A record which has been, like so many, delayed by Covid and all its intrusion, (re)constructed openly relishes the imagination and the unpredictability that offers which in turn sparks the same in the invention and ears of the listener as we swiftly found.

Bringing nine tracks which “tell the two members’ life stories of the last few years” including the “first of Gavin’s psychotic episode a couple of years ago, how it came about, how it affected his life and the band, and how he is recovering from it” and of “Taran’s stumble into fatherhood at the age of 23, and how that affected the group and their music,” (re)constructed equally sparks the individual and personal interpretations of one’s own imagination. Equally it is an incitement to the body; a manipulation of movement and energy which few other instrumental encounters have as eagerly evoked for us.

This is quickly proven though not before the potent almost mesmeric lure of Intro (Voices) kicks things off. Often employing provocative samples to provide a vocal implication, the track is a swirl of voices new and parental within a thick weave of melodic grooving and rhythmic swing.

A fascinating start to the album soon erupts through the stomping exploits of Like We Used To and Palapalapa. The first calmly almost teasingly beckons ears, its percussive enticing soon joined by tangy lures of guitar and a hook that continues to dig in even deeper as the song weaves its suggestive body, even working away after the song departs in memory. Though it is for the most a controlled roar of sound the fire in its belly erupts with senses scorching zeal throughout while its successor is a riotous party in the ears. Infection loaded vocal calls and a just as catchy hook springing stroll are pure addiction with a more invasive enterprise of sound and drama only adding to the mayhem scented celebration and captivation.

Deconstructed is next up, the song just as infectious in its energy and character but with a darker sense of being amidst tension loaded shadows which only loom closer as the song weaves its warm yet ominously suggestive enterprise. As in all tracks, it is a mix conjured by guitar and drums; a slim combination belied by the rich and thick drama and as in its peril soaked successor Groundation Intervention (Interlude) one that expands in invention and incites greater fascination in intimation and sound by the second.

Another major highlight within the already attention gripping release is We’re All Totally Fucked, a track as warped and psychotic as it is invasively compelling. Every twist is an off-kilter surprise and each turn an imagination stirring incitement within an invasion of doom hued rock ‘n’ roll soaked in voracious nonconformity.

In turn Mercurial weaves a web of sonic implication across a maze of rhythmic resourcefulness, it forging another rich favourite moment within (re)constructed as it evolves in attitude and ambient temptation before the final pair of I Can Hear Them Too and the album’s title track brings the release to a gripping conclusion, the outstanding first quickly proving irresistible incitement as cinematic and unstable as it is intimate and progressively curious; again samples telling a tale but in turn only guiding one’s uniqueness of thought to its implication.

The final song is a piece feeling rich in hope and celebration, like a rising up from the respective shadows and dramas of those before it and embracing the fight it took to get there. Every groove and hook got under the skin and each rhythmic manoeuvre gripped the puppet like reaction of the body.

An adventure which will be something different for each and a rousing incitement for all we suggest, (re)constructed is a must for those with an appetite for the noise, rock ‘n’ roll and instrumental adventure of the keenest and finest order.

(re)constructed is out now; available digitally and on CD and vinyl @ https://bicurious.bandcamp.com/