On paper, Ides of Gemini are a power trio: Vocalist Sera Timms plays bass and sings, while electric guitarist Jason Bennett and drummer Kelly Johnston occasionally back her on vocals. If that categorization suggests some militant maul of lockstep rhythms and churning leads, two factors push Ides of Gemini apart from those expected molds. First, Timms' cathedral-sized air arrives just in time for the return of Dead Can Dance, its darkly seraphim tone cast wide with a gentle reverb haze. She softens the role of doom-metal bandleader, doling out lyrics about dishonor, mortality, and pain with a well-developed sense of what sounds pretty. And just as she's a different sort of singer than you might expect from a nominal power trio, she and Johnston shape a rhythm section that's exactly that-- functional for the meter, but little more. On the trio's debut, Constantinople, her bass playing sits squarely in the middle, sometimes barely perceptible save for the liner notes' credits; for her part, Johnston drums with a garage-like rumble, keeping the beat but rarely building around it. Ides of Gemini, then, subverts the general prowess triangle of this music-- an academy-ready vocalist fronting a passable young rock band.
The configuration fosters both intrigue and disappointment on the nine-track Constantinople. Timms' singing alone makes it a necessary listen; her control is extraordinary, capable of low dips and high drives in a single phrase and harmonies that ooze across the track. On "Resurrectionists", she employs a sense of timing and dynamic that suggests Beach House's Victoria Legrand slinking through the verses, and connecting with the chorus. "Resurrectionists" also showcases one of the trio's most compelling musical crutches: All three players suddenly thin their parts, so that the bass, guitar, voices, and drums synchronize in sudden stops and starts. When they turn the same trick midway through "The Vessel & the Stake", it's electrifying, like the trademark clatter of "Iron Man" suited in finer clothing. Their lurches and launches during "Reaping Golden" are captivating, too, triumphantly pushing and pulling against the theme.
But throughout Constantinople, it's possible to imagine what these songs might sound like with a full band at their backs, or, at the very least, an outfit that would split the intricacy with Timms' voice. There are holes in these tunes, obvious places where a more capable ensemble might have built something better or more immersive. Johnston's simplicity behind the kit is the kind of thing that the band's biography graciously dubs "martial." This music doesn't lend itself to drumming that's neither sophisticated nor subtle. Hints of black metal, sludge, and even classic British wizardry generally succumb to the notion that this trio isn't up to the task, a problem that erases the kind of stylistic frisson that could add some much-needed tension to Constantinople. A longtime heavy-metal critic, Bennett is a fine and erudite guitarist. He tries to add something to Timms' complicated elegance, but his playing sometimes feels like an attempt to upstage her. All too often, it feels combative, as though his high placement in the mix were intended to prove that this band has more than one strength. Here, they really don't. Were Bennett's lines-- incisive riffs that are very familiar but certainly reinvigorated-- integrated into a full-band setting instead of serving as the lone point of interest aside from the vocals, they might feel less restless, demanding, or distracting.
On last year's debut EP, The Disruption Writ, Bennett and Timms tried the same approach on four of the songs found again on Constantinople. But that was self-recorded and self-released, while this LP was engineered by Chris Rakestraw and mastered by James Plotkin. A year ago, Timms didn't seem quite so commanding, meaning that she, Bennett, and their drum machine sat well together in the same lo-fi space. But the better she sounds, the less cohesive the band seems to get. Here, Bennett and Johnston seem lucky just to back her. Again, at least her lead alone is worth the price of attention.
