Am I in Trouble? - Spectrum (Album Premiere)

Written by: The Administrator

A premiere for Spectrum, the debut album from Am I In Trouble? Hosted at Sleeping Village Reviews?! No need, dear reader, to feign shock; this was always inevitable. Less a question of "if," and rather a question of "when?" I'm pleased to announce that the wait is over. The time is now.

If the name Am I in Trouble? doesn't ring a bell, I recommend checking out our fairly extensive catalog of coverage. During the extensive buildup to the Jan. 3rd drop, we've covered three tracks available pre-release: check out writeups for Red, White, and Black. 

A common theme of said reviews is the clarity of Am I in Trouble's varied and vibrant songwriting in the pursuit of an aesthetic homage to 90's Scandinavian avant-garde black metal oddity. While the aforementioned songs are quite distinct from a sonic perspective, they share a common tendency to resist stagnation. The Am I in Trouble? playbook emphasizes constant motion and evolution, which allows for the dynamic juxtaposition of some remarkable extremes. Going from gentle to aggressive and back again is hardly a new trick in the world of metal, but multi-instrumentalist mastermind Steve Wiener wields a uniquely honed sense of unpredictability. This results in some incredibly flexible songcraft. With that said, a distinct and uncanny cohesion pervades.  

We get more in-depth below, but lest we lose sight of the plot, we slumbering scribes are excited to premiere (in full!) the excellent Spectrum a few days prior to release. Give it a well-deserved listen! We'll meet you, as always, on the other side.

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This chromatic 31 minute love letter to a specific musical moment in time is delightfully fresh and unique. In a stroke of uniformity that grounds the nonconformist compositions, the seven tracks herein are named after a color. But never does the naming convention feel like a gimmick--each track is truly imbued with the character of its particular color. Perhaps the associations are due in part to the power of suggestion, but the first time I listened to the album in full, I hit play on "Yellow" without seeing the track title and immediately said, out loud, "this is Yellow." It feels yellow, in the same way that Red, White, and Black felt like their respective colors.

Given an acute awareness of crutch words, I'll be the first to admit that "eclectic" is overused around these parts, but I think its safe to say that it applies here. Even to call this homage to avant-garde black metal feels like a massive oversimplification, as Spectrum takes an obvious pride in integrating a wide variety of seemingly disparate genres, ranging from the expected blackened elements to folk metal, to alternative, to hard rock, to progressive rock. Each track is distinct in a way that practically demands a dreaded track-by-track breakdown. I'll avoid retreading ground discussed at greater length in standalone reviews, and thus will hone in on the "new" color-coded tracks: "Yellow," "Pink," "Blue," and "Green."

"Yellow" is bright and sunny--as I told Steve a while back, this track made me feel like I was standing in a field of sunflowers. Ember Belladonna's flute adds an overt pastoral folky vibe that meshes quite well with the general summery vibe. Listening to this track with winter rain battering the windows of the Sleeping Village's dimly lit scriptorium makes for prime escapism, and I'd be lying if I pretended that the repeat button hasn't seen some heavy use in regards to this short intro track. After the stellar "White," we're treated to another experiment in extremes via "Pink,"  a charming homage a certain cute yet destructive force of nature, with lyrics are written by Steve's wife Ася Плавскина. This track leads with a crisp pluckiness that is bowled over by crashing drums and blackened vocals. The guitarwork here is flexible, ranging from forlorn to punchy. As a bit of a defining characteristic, "Pink" features a borderline droning tail end, lending a somberness that is cleverly contested by the return of the plucky motif.

Things get more overtly aggressive with (personal favorite) "Red" en route to "Blue," which features a guitar solo from Paul Shryock of Negative Bliss. "Blue" captures the intrinsic depth and richness of the cyan-blue spectrum inordinately well, bridging a crisply clean guitar that fondly reminds me of Snakes and Arrows-era Rush with an eventual hefty stomp. This track feels like a prog rock interpolation of psychedelic doom, and marks a nice interlude between the more blackened forays. Speaking of blackened, "Black" is up next, with that feature from Ashenheart's Alex Loach doing some heavy lifting in the vicious vocals department. Lastly, "Green" closes things out by calling back to the folky instrumental vibrancy of "Yellow," pulling Ember Belladonna back into the mix for some bright flute. This short and sweet track feels like a lullaby, an invitation to nestle into verdant velvet moss.

Spectrum feels like an experiment in color theory in audio form. That intentionality and attention to detail makes for a listening experience that is both wonderful and unprecedented. The palette is broad and pleasing to the ear, the use of guests is smart and seamless, the runtime is trim and indicates an extremely respectable ability to edit ideas down to their essence without sacrificing the special moments. The execution is elegant and otherwise immaculate. This is a fantastic debut, full stop. 

Steve's work with Am I in Trouble? features a palpable passion and a unique clarity of vision, and it has been a sincere joy to have been invited along for the unveiling. It's safe to say that we're starting 2025 off right with this one--it is rare indeed when the new year is marked by the release of such a glorious and exciting album. Frankly, my only very valid criticism is that we champions of purple and orange were left wanting more.

Am I in Trouble? - Spectrum will be released Jan 3rd, 2025. Find it digitally here, on cassette via Negative Wingspan here, and on vinyl via Bölverk Records here.

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Am I in Trouble? can be found:
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