By: Carlos Aranibar
Rating: 7/11

Practice sessions for El Monte-based Eenik can’t be fun. No way, no how. Thankfully for the viewing public, their extraordinary musicianship leaves us panting for more of their complex intensity.

With that said, these guys are freakin’ sharp. Immediate references to Tool and even Asian-tinged strings in “Passive Attack” make for a beautiful respite from the current trend of garage grunge and power chord simplicity. They even throw in a bit of Death Metal growling, if for just a second, before the guitar solo climbs and melds perfectly into the chorus.

               

“FM for Spearmint Children,” their most mellow song (if you can call it mellow), starts off in a tame mood, highlights some masterful bass work, and builds into Incubus-influenced drumming. Also on display in this tune is some great production work, with timely synth and vocal effects throughout.

The members of Eenik may not like this next comparison, but the third track on their myspace, “Lazerblasts and Lace,” reminded me of “From Your Mouth,” an electro-pop song from the late ‘90s by God Lives Underwater. There’s no doubt that musicians of Eenik’s caliber didn’t mean to sound like this act but. as consolation, the vocals sounded very similar to those on Mudvayne’s “Happy?” And again, the synth work was excellent.

Eenik is anything but static, spanning technicality a la Rush. ‘80s synth stylings with top-notch bass and vocals make for an all-around solid sound. They are definitely worth a listen, at one of their many shows in SoCal or on their website, which offers multiple videos and tracks.