In Each Hand A Cutlass - A Universe Made of Strings

I have to admit, In Each Hand a Cutlass wasn't what I expected. Maybe jumping off too hastily to conclusions, after skimming through one or two pieces. The live performance masterfully executed brought to ends any allusions; I was blown away. What IEHAC manages to do is to cop feels of a wide variety of audio buttocks & sonic tits, claiming it for their own.




Openers The Escape ties in with Inspector Cutlass, clearly defining the mood as Asian with a touch of noir for added adrenaline. While the spanking bass in Inspector Cutlass and elaborate shredding makes for good technical summary, the opening for A Universe Made of Strings could use more experimentation and deviance.

Sliding in at just the right angle, the track Glaciers offers clear unaltered guitars with easy paced drums, losing the caffeinated edge to bliss for the first 3 minutes. The pace quickens after, rolling coasters picking up the pace once more. It's reminiscent of Hammock's "Raising your Voice..." work; Real easy on the ears. The wonderfully suave drumline in Chocolate & The Lovelorn Girl will get your body bouncing, assuming the bass doesn't grasp you in fits first. A transition to soft electronica is subtle, it's hard to differentiate where one track ends and another begins. The start of Marauder has a slight whirling drone tinge, sandwiched inbetween are pockets of blues guitarstry. That is to say, IEHAC stays true to the song's identity, never swaying away from the original, intended feel.

A Universe Made of Strings was said to have been conceived with the mathematical Super String Theory in mind, but what I feel is that this album is one that echoes and reverberates with human ideas, rather than mathematical equations. In A Universe Made of Strings, the featured track; A gently plucked guitar sways with a soft bass, while the high notes of a violin offer duality. The use of haunting vocals will have your arms pockmarked with goosebumps. Having said all that, the extensive crossovers between different audio plateaus can be attributed to the band's lineup, their prolific musical background. IEHAC is indie rock veteran Daniel Sassoon (Electrico, Livonia, The Recidivists), keyboardist/DJ/dark mistress Amanda Ling (The Synth Experience, Electrico, Throb), producer/engineer Roland Lim (Seraphim) and drum wizard Jordan Cheng (Rafe, For This Cycle).

Find them on bandcamp : http://www.ineachhandacutlass.com/