The Extraordinary Contraptions

"It's theatrical, it's rock n roll, it's steampunk. The Extraordinary Contraptions present... a blend of groovy bass lines and eloquent piano tunes, driving drums and dramatic vocals.
The group's diversity is its strength, continually surprising you with innovative sounds. This multitude of musical flavors is bound together by the band's characteristic animation, a theater presence which inspires you to cheer for the hero appearing on stage and boo for the ever-menacing villain." - The Silver Tongue

Steampunk music is still the conundrum it was four years ago when the "genre" first came about on the heels of acts such as Vernian Process and Abney Park. That said, Georgia based steampunk rock outfit The Extraordinary Contraptions continue in this fine tradition with The Time Traveler's Constant, a new album that combines a variety of sonic styles with steampunk theatricality.

To start, this is a very talented group of musicians. You can hear their primary progressive rock and quirky indie influences in their music. The 12 songs on this album showcase the band's exceptional abilities with consitent change ups in tempo and rhythm as well as including some really excellent uses in harmonics.

With that on the board, I'll also say that this is not a pop record. There is little to no easy to digest dance tunes, poppy songs about gears and cogs or overwrought productions about flying around in airships. There IS a theatrical element though, a full five vignettes that theoretically tie into a number of the songs. I'm not saying any of this with criticism though, it's refreshing to hear real musicianship used in such a style and in many senses harkens back to the golden era of 1970s glam and progressive rock.

And rock this album does. It is a rock album through and through. There are elements of vaudeville, but only as icing to the complicated guitar riffs, fantastic vocal abilities and non-traditional rhythm sections.

For those who are still hankering for what I might call the closest to "Traditional steampunk music", aka, neo-vaudeville with a hint of rock and industrial, I would suggest "Prelude to the Nocturnis," a fun song that I'd use in any DJ set. Yet, it doesn't hold up technically to more complicated tracks like progressive rhythms of "Paste" or the vocal landscapes of "Hinderscipe's Lament."

If I have an outright criticism of the record, it's that I found the vignettes to be a bit cheesey. I found few of them directly fitting in with the music. I'm sure they technically do, but their connection is not evident enough to allow me to really appreciate them. I would've perferred to hold off on them and allow the music to tell the story itself.

In the end, I'd suggest this record for a few types of people. Off the bat, those who like classic bands such as Styx or complicated neo-vaudeville like HUMANWINE would appreciate this. If you've also grown weary of bands that have songs with the word "steampunk" in their titles, you'll also likely appreciate this album. If you're the type that perfers easily digestable and poppier, more party anthem fare, you may want to pass this one up. Lastly, I can see this as the right fit for a showtunes fan. A Sondhiem showtunes fan though, not a Lloyd Webber one.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to further offers from The Extraordinary Contraptions.

When (The Lord Baron) Joseph C.R. Vourteque IV isn't too busy producing shows, looking down upon minions and taking a REALLY long time to do music reviews, he's making music himself! Dance music to be exact (and not particularly complicated dance music). Check him out at www.Vourteque.com or www.SteampunkChicago.com - Steampunk Chronicle

The Atlanta based troop, The Extraordinary Contraptions, play steampunk addle(pated) indie pop-rock and they do it pretty darned well. Their third outing is entitled The Time Traveler’s Constant and covers similar territory to their earlier releases but is somehowbetter.

The tunes on The Time Traveler’s Constant are based on sprightly pop infused with a bit of rock music rocket fuel but all (chemically) married to lovely, crisp vocals that are more musical theatre than bar-room bravado. But there’s also a jazzy/jam-band openess to the songs that make them feel like they could take off in any direction at anytime. I’m reminded of a production of Godspell I worked on many ages ago that featured a live rock band onstage: there’s an in-the-moment energy and a sense of theatrical style that makes me think I’m missing one hell of a show by not seeing them live.

For fans of the band all of this should all be familiar to you, but taken up a notch. Perhaps the song writing has grown, perhaps the band has gotten tighter, the production is excellent… for whatever reason The Time Traveler is the best Extraordinary Contraptions album so far.

For those new to the band, this is a great place to hop on board with them, especially if you’re into steampunk and are eager to find bands with a pop/rock basis.

Overall a really fun listen. - SepiaChord