Scenes From the Second Storey

An album that defies standard genre conventions, yet it firmly stands its ground in this hazy, psychedelic trance-like soundscape that mixes Pink Floyd, Tool, Fugazi, and the cornucopia we call the alt-rock scene of the late 80s and early 90s.

A maker of its own ecosystem, Scenes From The Second Storey is a bite of epic proportion, be it because of its length, or because of its diverse content, which ranges from classic distorted guitar blazing, repetitive tribal and stoner, post-metal thumping, desolate acoustic sections, a weird classical ambient influence, and this idea which I can only describe as Spacegrunge. The band clearly emphasized instrumental over lyrical content, as most of the album is sparse in terms of singing, which I find positive because the songwriting wasn't their strong suit, at least on this album, with it being mostly introspective, existential, and angry ranting (oh 90s, you never seem to disappoint in that area), and their instrument playing is tight, concise, and knows where it wants to go, and uses a plethora of different ways to arrive there.

Sadly, Scenes From the Second Storey never got its due diligence. Whether that be because of the band's short life span, or the weird place it occupied in the music world, the band, or their albums never took off, but that only makes it more rewarding to find an overlooked gem on the vastness of the internet without any recommendations whatsoever.