BORDERLINE SYNDROME

Any band that spouts influences as diverse as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Tool, Radiohead, Bjork, Ulver, King Crimson and Miles Davis, and claims to draw on many a genre as disparate as mathcore, pop, and traditional Greek music makes promises of huge reward. The ideas in Athens’ Borderline Syndrome’s three-track promo are, as the list of influences suggests, far reaching. Shifting between mid-paced melodies to technically challenging heavy tracks, they blend styles both articulately and innovatively. ‘Shock Doctrine’, for example is a potent mix of Gong psychedelia and Mr Bungle eccentricity. Alex Chatziioannou’s and Simos Pagiavlas’ guitar and bass work is astounding, precise, technical, and fluid, weaving complex webs with Sebastian Marc’s exceptional keyboards. And Alex Stavropoulos’ drums are at once solid and subtle. The real Achilles’ heel of this promo, however, is the vocals. At every turn, lead vocalist Sophia Sarri attempts to stretch herself far beyond her very limited range and falls flat, particularly when trying to give shape to whatever it is that she is wailing about. Her delivery of the first line of opener ‘In Rainbows’ is grating, the sudden mid-vowel shift in pitch is utterly repellent, sadly overshadowing the band’s compositional skills. Were this an isolated moment (which would have been addressed during the recording by any other band professing professionalism), it would be forgivable. But it’s not, and Sarri’s voice continues to hinder the otherwise fine EP. There are moments, however, when her vocals work, particularly in ‘Thank You For Being Honest’, yet these are an exception to the rule. No amount of vibrato or subtle transformations in timbre can disguise weak vocals. She’s not alone though. When the harmonies raise their head, they’re as ugly as their big sister. Or maybe they’re in key and she’s out. Either way, it’s a mismatch made in Hades. This EP could only be faulted for the band’s insistence in loading every tune with as many styles as possible, but because of the accomplishment in taste in the compositions, this is minor. In order to gain the acclaim that they richly deserve, Borderline Syndrome should either get a proficient vocalist that can do something effective with the material, or become an instrumental band. Had the balance in musical proficiency been better, this debut would have been something worth shouting about.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Self-released

EP

BORDERLINE SYNDROME

Review by Jason Guest

RUNNING TIME:

15:00

RELEASE DATE:

27th June 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) In Rainbows
2) Shock Doctrine
3) Thank You For Being Honest

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Greece

"In order to gain the acclaim that they richly deserve, Borderline Syndrome should either get a proficient vocalist that can do something effective with the material, or become an instrumental band."