Tired of Triangles - Up at 4 A​.​M.

Tired of Triangles

Up at 4 A​.​M.
self-released; 2016

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Who knows what type of music you are going to get with an album cover that contains a stoic, arguably docile looking dog behind a psychedelic background that looks like it could be the inside of alien spacecraft. Tired of Triangles is the side project for filmmaker Dave Andrae who released Up at 4 A​.​M.. The album in a lot of ways contains songs that feel like mood pieces rather than songs that you would play at a party, run to, hear on the radio, etc. He explores plenty of ideas that rarely get fleshed out and expanded upon.

There is just no denying that the album for better or worse has songs that have very little energy. There is virtually no percussion but that’s not the only reason they seem depleted of anything kinetic. Between the actual guitar riffs and delivery the songs feel stagnant as if they aren’t moving. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but you do kind of have to be in the right mood and as I stated I think most of these pieces would work well in a film.

He opens with “You Can Let Go at Any Time, Champ” which is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. The guitar parts feel sad, depleted and while you do get a couple more layers as they progress it never feels like they move. 

“No Alibi” explores feedback and delay techniques. It sounds like it could be the beginning to a Deehunter song. Andrae’s vocal delivery is between singing and talking. The song feels like a snippet or introduction. “On Feeling Well” had the potential to be a fleshed-out song. I was digging the initial riff which just ends up going till it's exhausted. 

I’m not sure if “The Petty Trolls of Rock 'n' Roll” was supposed to be comical but the beginning vocal delivery seemed to be some sort of hyperbolic KISS impression. “Ped Loop Revisited” is experimental ambient piece comprised of white noise, feedback and a couple of indecipherable sounds. “Song for Kaji” is another ambient piece while the closer “Pauper's Windfall” is hypnotic and a mood piece that repeats like a mantra.

​The album is mostly just a number of disparate ambient pieces that  feel more like a collage of sounds. I can’t see any of these songs being a hit but at least he has some music for his films.

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