The Depreciation Guild - In Her Gentle Jaws

The Depreciation Guild is an interesting and unique project, with a few guys guys making music using their voices, a couple guitars, and an NES sound chip. It's basically a combination of shoegaze and chiptunes, and the two very different genres work surprisingly well together. The sound chip provides percussion, harmony, and interplays constantly with the guitars, and it's easy to forget you're listening to a video game system. I've heard some chiptunes before, and while it can be catchy, it often just sounds like slightly sparse techno. Hearing it used very naturally in the way it is here makes me wonder really how diverse it can be.

A lot of tracks sound very similar and aren't as distinctly memorable as they could be, but all of them are pretty enjoyable. "Butterfly Kisses" is a good opener, letting the listener know what to expect going forward, with a nice fast pace. "Heavy Eyes" is a good example of their slower, softer songs. The title track is an instrumental, and one of the most effective slow burns I've heard in a while, having a really good build up. "Nautilus" is the longest track, and gave me maybe the strongest post-rock vibe on the album. "A Room, A Canvas" gave me a sort of 80s vibe, with the chorus especially. Not in a bad way, though. In general it's not a very fast album, with the general pace and pleasant vocals creating a very soothing feel to everything. Considering the different styles used it's actually not a record that really takes a lot of risks, but it certainly should be enjoyable for most people. It's also for available for free download on the band's website, so you should definitely listen.