During all eleven tracks and thirty-six minutes of Awakening Protocol, The Destruction Of The Cult Of The Sun tries to reshape what you know about the world. TDOTCOTS, (because even the acronym is a mouthful) a band formed by Eben Tenner, tries to open your mind and encourages listeners to observe their reality as foreign and enjoy the absurdity. Messages like loving your fellow man are encoded within talk of quantum energy, hidden realms, and rejection of conventional faith. These theater tracks, that deliver a left-field manifesto, are backed by fairly basic grooves, but in between is my favorite psychedelic dance-rock album of the year. Groove is the name of the game in most of these tracks, lifting the crazy vibe to some sort of mystical credibility. This innovative album has something for everyone willing to take the plunge, and while I completely understand shying away from the skits, some of these tracks are innovative enough and have enough driving grooves to be added to any Friday night party playlist. Let’s break it down!
Quantum Echoes welcomes you into the album with chapter one of the spiel, and if you’re into any sort of weird dystopian fiction, I recommend listening to this one and getting an idea of the rest of the narrative tracks are something you like The narration is sold well, and the delivery is almost optimally packed into verses above a juicy bass groove. It’s so funky it has me believing in vampires, and you just have to dive into the insanity to see where they fit in.
Haunted is the first track on the album with singing instead of narration, providing the first opportunity for the band to truly spread its wings and show off for the first time. It’s upbeat and groovy but has an ethereal reverb soaking the mid-highs in a way that makes it sound, yes, just a bit haunting.
Red Hot American Dream is the next track, coming in with the lofty, if a bit repetitive, hair-in-the-wind feel good riff. Check this track out if you like high-neck fingerstyle or washed-out summer vibes.
Energy Nexus is the next narrated track, laying out an alternative history horror story with sci-fi notes reminiscent of the Matrix franchise. I’d recommend this song to anyone who particularly likes the song ‘Fire Coming Out of The Monkey’s Head’ by Gorillaz, or just enjoys audiobooks with a bit of insanity, but if you didn’t like the first track, Quantum Echoes, then this one will turn you away quicker.
Young Love toes the line between rock and dance. A stabby disco synth and talkbox push the chorus into disco territory, and the wah and other elements convey Daft Punk vibes in every bit of the orchestration. This song is for those who are ready to dance with no hesitation, no negative vibes, and no criticism, just key change up and keep moving!
Silk Sheets is easily the passionate high-point in the album. An echoing mandolin tone and falsetto wails set the delicate scene, and then the bassline and percussion let loose and push a shake-and-stomp chorus that wails as much as it sings.
The Cult Of The Sun is part three of the narrated adventure, and it’s the heaviest, makes the least conventional sense, and is the reason why I have labeled these sections as one big manifesto, considering the tone shift at the end. For those of you looking for the message of the song named in likeness of the band, get ready to embrace the crazy, at its most dire sounding point.
Bad Blood uses a digital set and stage kit for two different drum parts and uses the contrast between them to build tension. The main melody comes from a guitar line with so many corners sanded off it sounds like a synth, and a slightly higher synth that the guitar likes to hand off to when not coated in a modest bit of fuzz. Not a focal point, but carries the album along well and fits a smoky room neon club vibe.
Téléphone brings the heat, and Jaydi Zavala’s bilingual lyrics create a soothing sense of depth through her natural timbre. The full Cult-kicking ensemble creates a wavy groove in the background, with wah’ed guitars, funky bass, and almost disco drums.
The Valley Of Death / Beyond The Blue bleeds disco riffs, and then pulls back for beyond the blue, into an anchored, quiet groove. That’s when it hits you and part four of the album-long sermon resumes. The presentation makes this the most appealing track of the four spoken word tracks, but it is still an absolute vibe saboteur in the beat switch to anyone not in the know
Peel Peaches finishes the album with a bit of reservation, opting for restless ringing chords and echoing claps to give a softly inquisitive drop-off to the album. There is no satisfying breakdown or resolution to send you out on, but that slight discomfort is exactly what Eben Tenner seems to have wanted you to feel all along. It’s a cliffhanger of an ending, but also a promise that The Destruction of The Cult Of The Sun isn’t done yet.
In all its parts, Awakening Protocol is a fringe, experimental, and deeply weird album, but it’s presented so masterfully, so seamlessly, that it draws you in not despite the crazy, but in a small way, because of the crazy.
