The 12th Human: “Inundated / Apparition” – Swelling with passion and spirit!
The 12th Human was created in the summer of 2016 by 24-year old musician Eric Wexler. The project’s first release was the 2016 single entitled “Tall Sun”, which has now been followed by the 2017 three-song EP “Inundated / Apparition”. Wexler plays all the instruments and performs the vocals, while the EP was recorded and produced by Randy Pasquarella of Pasquarella Recordings. It always is nice to find a recording that is both easy to digest and has somewhat of a long lasting effect. In our modern world of pop punk and indie it seems that so many bands have mastered the first part but are quite lacking as far as the second one is concerned.
The 12th Human has put out an EP with a lot to like. Its overall sound is catchy, relaxing and fun, just like pop punk should be. Vocals are very smooth in sound, and the harmonization as well as its usage is absolutely stunning for the genre. Bass sticks out as a sturdy block, holding up the rhythm section very nicely.
There is a fair share of verses where bass lines even stand out as being very well written. Drums do exactly what they need to, keeping a solid beat yet tossing in some great fills and rolls to compliment the music. It’s pop punk, so the guitars must have powerful chord driven progressions.
Believe it or not there are actually some very respectable smoother guitar melodies on this EP, especially on the slow and melodic “At Your Table”. The harder riffs are not only catchy, but also very precisely executed and wonderfully written, as on “Apparition”.
This irresistible track boasts an enthralling melody amid an infectious beat before erupting into a louder more boisterous chorus, and then cutting back to quiet again. Its delightful pendulum attitude really ropes you in, cementing it as one of the best offerings on show here.
For this being only a 3 track EP, there is a good amount of redeeming factors present. The 12th Human clearly has a strong sense of what he wants as far as his music goes. “Inundated” has enough powered-up melodic and rhythmic features that help separate this from your average punk band.
The guitar work is nice in a sense that it can successfully carry certain sections and add a lot of depth to others. The vocals are powerful and crystalline throughout, whether atop of clean or distorted guitar work.
Overall, The 12th Human has put together a thoroughly enjoyable EP. As a whole the sound is easy to digest, but contains enough complexity and technical prowess to keep listeners coming back for more. Swelling with passion and spirit, things sound polished, and catchy, with vigorous vocals and bracing instrumentation, that makes it easy to lose yourself to the melodic fervor of “Inundated / Apparition”.
Absolutely loved this EP.