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GPKISM
Sublimis

Darkest Labyrinth

Posted: Friday, October 03, 2008
By: Amy Mauk
Flash Animator / Motion Graphics Slave

Looking at GPKISM is a delight. Listening to GPKISM, however, is a bit like watching Mikhail Baryshnikov get drunk and do the running man. On one hand, they have some serious musical chops. On the other hand, they don't always lead with their strengths and they can tend to be all over the place. The strong points of Sublimis are when GPKISM go old school, whipping out a choral arrangement that brings to mind the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem K. 626. Multiple layers of strings, synths, and harpsichord are arranged beautifully throughout the album, making GPKISM stand out in a crowd filled with musicians who can barely keep guitar, bass, and drums under control. Musicianship like that of Sublimis doesn't happen very often in pop music, and GPKISM deserve serious credit for it.

Ironically, that musicianship is what makes the other elements of the album so heartbreaking. In their efforts to fuse old and new, GPKISM throw their lovely musical arrangements to the wolves by pairing them with EBM-style drums. Those drums stomp all over the harpsichords, mashing them into a puree that begins to make all of the songs sound the same. The vocals don't help the situation much, being so overdramatic - even for Goth - that they verge on becoming parodies of themselves. This is exacerbated by the fact that GPK's vocal and mixing skills pale in comparison to his keyboards and arrangements, causing listeners to wish he had delegated a bit more. GPKISM have made a valiant attempt to fuse old and new, but the "new" part needs some work to be worthy of the band's abilities.