The beginning of the 11-minute long “Find Your Place” gives a good look into the soul of Fourteen Twentysix's music on the debut release by this Dutch outfit. It’s an intro that goes five minutes into the song before the vocals kick in, and it features a thick, monolithic wall of synthesized sound of almost melodic white noise, into which notes of the piano and the acoustic guitar come and go like ripples in water, creating minuscule cadences in this large body of sound. There is an atmosphere in this intro, which is surreal and beautiful. And as it then morphs into the actual song: drums, vocals, and guitar noises slowly emerge, adding layers to this 11-minute odyssey. 

Fourteen Twentysix is about creating a sonically captivating landscape first and foremost, and then molding a song into it. This recipe works well for the band, since they create songs that are dark and brooding and rely on aural musical layering more than anything else. Sometimes, this larger canvas of a song is a heavy electronic beat structure that goes into repetition for the entire duration, into which the song is woven. These songs – “These Wrists,” “Waves To Forget,” and “You Sleep Under The Trees” – have a dark techno-meets-melodic rock appeal, with the added guitars always giving a tuneful gloss to the music.

Even with its brooding moodiness, Songs To Forget is not an album of gloom. Vocalist and frontman Chris van der Linden and his group create refined wistfulness, making sure melody is a key part of every track. Plus, van der Linden has a gentle yearning voice that wouldn’t make gloom sound any sexy. Fourteen Twentysix has an amazing ability to intertwreathe layers of synths and guitars to create dreamy, otherworldly effects. This has resulted in an album of beautiful textures and awesome music.

On a sidenote, this album is available for free/name your price download on the band’s website.

Rating: B+

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