If Florence, from Florence and the Machine decided to take the machine apart, fiddle with the pieces and then put them all back together again creating a new, better machine, she might even stumble upon a sound somewhere close to that of The Betty Alice Effect.
Listeners may not know what to expect from the The Betty Alice Effect at first glance toward their marketing and social media posts. Perhaps one might brace themselves for something a touch grittier than the polished almost folky sounds taking place on their 2016 EP, On The Run.
On The Run should be considered more of a sprint when taking into account the sparseness of the three tracks. Where the album is lacking actual duration, it more than makes up for with its depth of sound and lyrical ideas. That Tayssa Hubert’s voice is as sweet as a daydream is enough to want to eternally nap. Alice Hubert’s keyboards, Isaac Carter on Bass and Jesse Strecker on drums fill in the dream with enough detail to make for a very comfortable and ultimately repeatable trip.
The production on On The Run is nothing less than beautiful. There’s a symmetry to the sound as opposed to overproduction that might cause the group of accomplished musicians to be sound canned. Instead of one idea we hear them all the ideas at once metaphorically speaking. Every instrument gets its due yet none complete with the other. Where there might have been the instinct to add more effects, filters and gains, the production on On The Run seemed to counter that instinct. The result is something a little more subdued than the lyrics and arrangements might have suggested. It’s a bit of a new concept in creating a more experimental rock album than what is played on top 40 and it works.
However one defines the Betty Alice Effect, each new track and every subsequent listen will have you change your mind. On The Run is a quick trip, not a marathon but that doesn’t mean you wont want to round the track(s) over and over again.
-- Val Christopher
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!