I read another review online that compared the boys of APSE to The Mars Volta. Having just seen Volta in concert, I’m going to tell you right now that this is just flat out incorrect. APSE make decent music. Unlike their much darker debut, this album takes a much lighter tone. It’s a little pop, a little electro, a little new age. It’s good stuff, but nowhere near the daring musical mastery that Volta is capable of. To compare these two groups is to compare Mozart with Yanni. For one thing APSE is a little all-over-the-place. They begin the album with the new-age-rock themed ‘Blown Doors,’ which embodies a sound that (if I had to choose) would classify the album. From there on, however, the tracks exude the influence of a wide-range of rock genres with APSE’s signature electro-twist. ‘3.1′ is a catchy electro-rock banger that invokes images of 80s hair metal bands. The same can be said of ‘Rook,’ whose rich driving bass line and infectious main riff make it one of the more enjoyable listening experiences on the album. Influences from various other rock genres can be heard in the surf-music drumming of ‘The Whip’ or in the psychedelic droning of ‘Tropica.’

The interesting thing about the group is that despite the fact that most of the tracks on Climb Up feature vocals, it has the distinct feel of an ambient instrumental album. This is largely due to the fact that the vocals are mixed and digitally altered in such a way that they tend to blend stunningly well with the backing tracks. This use of vocals as an additional instrument and not as a main attraction gives APSE a very unique and subdued sound, subdued being the key word here. It’s enjoyable as easy-listening, but there’s nothing about Climb Up that truly grips you. For that, APSE will have to exist in electro-rock mediocrity for the time being.

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