While the term ‘supergroup’ can be generously attributed in conjunction with Gone Is Gone (let’s be honest, although these musicians have all contributed to tremendous art in other outfits, only Mastodon’s Troy Sanders is of a significantly high profile to fit the moniker), there is a discipline about Echolocation that’s at odds with the usual sloppiness and vanity that often characterises these projects.
In fact, considering Sanders is the biggest draw here, his band’s dense prog metal seems to be the one least represented sonically. There’s also precious little of the manic punk of drummer Tony Hajjar’s time in At The Drive-In. Instead the classy, glacial alt-rock of guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen’s time in A Perfect Circle and, more fittingly, Failure, is where Echolocation most comfortably sits. Ornament takes influence from British post-punk and industrial, coming across like Killing Joke covering Gary Numan. Sanders’ lumbering bass on Resurge is pure QOTSA, but with Josh Homme replaced by The Cure’s Robert Smith. Gone Is Gone benefit from not trying to mash up the sum of their parts into a big Mastodon-QOTSA-ATDI mess, instead just writing a record of enjoyably subtle alternative rock. They’re no supergroup, but they’re a decent one.
