Here we have the latest single from Auckland trio Imposter Syndrome, which is based strongly on a riffed acoustic guitar (the sound of which is superb, congrats whoever engineered this), with vocals over the top. Due to its nature this has plenty of space within the arrangements as even when additional instruments are added they are sparse, so the concentration is always on the voice and the guitar. Ryan Culleton’s vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Jonathan Richman with a breathy and frail voice which has a steel core. There are no drums, percussion or beat, which gives the music a certain feel but just when one feels like everything makes sense, it ends. The first time I played this I was quite surprised so checked the length which was when I realised it was only a fraction over two minutes long. Now, I am not averse to short songs (I am a massive fan of the likes of Napalm Death and Agoraphobic Nosebleed, neither of which are known for lengthy material), but here the rather abrupt ending does seem out of place.
This is the third single from the forthcoming album, Oriens, and it will be interesting to hear how the band comes across in a larger setting as while this is interesting, I found that for me there was just not enough depth and if it were longer, I am sure the ideas being presented would have had time to better develop.
Related Acts:
About the author Kev Rowland

From 1990 – 2006 I ran Feedback fanzine in the UK, writing about bands that were rarely covered in the mainstream press, many of whom were in the underground scene. I built close ties with many British Progressive groups in particular, including writing the newsletter for Freewill, getting gigs for Credo and writing the introduction to Galahad’s OCMDII compilation. I reviewed literally thousands of cassettes and then CDs from bands from throughout the world, and was lucky enough to interview many of them. During this period I also contributed to the French progzine Acid Dragon, wrote for the music newspaper Rock ‘n’ Reel and was also involved with the Ghostland website. In 2006 I moved to NZ, and stopped running Feedback (which was then renamed Amplified after I left, at my request) having produced over 80 editions with more than 11,000 pages of print and heaven knows how many reviews
More by Kev Rowland
Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland – 07/07/2023

Single Review: Love and War

Single Review: All This Time

Single Review: Sons of Savages

Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland – 26/05/2023

Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland – 27/05/2023

Single Review: Beautiful Creature

Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe – 24/05/2023

EP Review: Bridge City Crew

Single Review: Your Heart of Gold

Single Review: The Strangest Dream

Single Review: No Funeral Blues
