Fortunately Everything Dies — Censored

Everybody loves a mystery, whether they're a budding Hercule Poirot or Jessica Fletcher. And with this independently released electronic album by Fortunately Everything Dies, there's certainly some sleuthing required.

Some people received promo copies of this record with the band's name and "Censored" pasted over a classical record CD case, ransom note style. Supposedly, no two CD packagings are alike and there's no info at all on the band. The only clue to go on is the origin of the CD sender. Our package arrived from CJAM, a campus radio station in Windsor, Ont.

Musically, Censored is a mish-mash of electronic atmospherics and mid-tempo beats featuring song titles that are either nonsensical or very descriptive. For example "This Is The Dream Of Eno & Vangelis" is just that, a vague copy of a lesser Vangelis soundtrack composition or a B-side from one of Eno's ambient albums.

On the other end of the title spectrum is "Witty Song Titles Are Tough" or "A Proud Client Of Prestige Worldwide Since 2008." The former is a cacophonous ditty which features old school electronics manipulated through changes in speed and volume. The latter one note track sounds like it's a bongo drum accelerated to the speed of sound. Then there's "I Don't Wear White Jeans," which features some sci-fi-type sound effects that would've been more appropriate for the preceding track, "Let's All Worship Ridley Scott"

There's really nothing here you want to hear more than once. In the end, a mystery like Censored should remain unsolved.