For the unacquainted, THE NEW REGIME is the musical musings of one Ilan Rubin. You may remember him as the drummer from such bands as Denver Harbour, Lostprophets and even Nine Inch Nails. At the sickeningly young age of 22, he’s accomplished more in his short life than most drummers manage in their entire career and with this, his second solo album, retirement doesn’t look to be on the cards anytime soon.
Rubin serves his ambition up by the bucketload and that’s immediately recognisable on ‘Speak Through The White Noise’. There is a Muse-esque largeness to the tracks on offer here, with layer upon layer of intricacies decorating the likes of ‘Clairaudience’ and ‘Pray For The Weak’, sealing them as semi-epic rock opuses. This really is a one-man band affair (Rubin played and recorded every single instrument here) and as an accomplished pianist, it’s predictably a keys-heavy record. Where the piano takes the lead however, as it does in ‘Enjoy The Bitterness’ and ‘The Skeptic’, the tracks themselves are sometimes lacking in bite and ultimately trudge along at an unfulfilling pace.
There are other flaws here, too. Throughout much of the album, the vocals are unashamedly processed – which in fairness ‘fits’ with the largely electronic sound Rubin is going for – but on repeated listens it begins to feel a bit contrived. It’s a shame, because when he allows his true voice to shine, it’s a majestic beast, snarling and full of grit.
‘Speak Through The White Noise’ is a peculiar album to say the least. It’s massively ambitious yet frustratingly inconsistent, brimming with ideas but not always allowing them to reach their full potential. However, in parts it is truly engaging and overall, an album that reveals more and more on every listen.
ANDY RITCHIE