In the landscape of today’s music industry, folks are always working on coming up with new ideas and approaches. This is especially the case when it comes to releasing music due to casual listeners using streaming services to listen to their favorite songs while also having short attention spans. With musicians and bands using that latter fact to release singles on a regular basis, others are reexamining how to properly unveil a full-length record. For example, take the Providence genre-bending alternative act Ontologics and their latest album “It’s Safe To Say The Veil Is Thinning” that came out on February 29. The release has two different versions with each one having different cover art, one made by Harry Buntrock and the other one done by Maryjka Babiak, along with different bonus tracks.

In a stylistic sense, the duo of Ian Campopiano and Andy Morris barrage the senses with a sonic cornucopia. This is conveyed through Campopiano’s multi-instrumental talents on guitars, percussion, keyboards and various types of programming as well as Morris’ rhythmic foundation via the drums. Campopiano sings as well, and his delivery is comparable to both Brandon Boyd from Incubus and Nick Hexum from 311. At the same time, Ontologics really stands alone with how they craft their songs. There are hints of jazz, hip hop, alt-rock, progressive and electronica that come through in fluid and cohesive fashion.

That progressive tone is definitely evident within the length of the songs as only a couple run below the five-minute mark. It’s not like there’s a bunch of boring filler or pretentious nonsense, it’s actually the opposite. Songs like “Ghouls Get Gone”, “Drifting Into Traffic”, “Non-Refundable Experiments” and the title track are prime examples of how Campopiano and Morris have the ability to explore artistic boundaries in substantial ways. There’s a lot to offer within the album from start to finish with a distinct variety becoming evident as the music moves along.

For the bonus tracks, one album has instrumental versions of both “Passive Aggression Passive Aggression” and “Simultaneous Experiences” while the other has an instrumental version of “The Gallantly Spectating Gold Medal Olympian”. To check out both editions of “It’s Safe To Say The Veil Is Thinning”, log on to Ontologics’ Bandcamp page at ontologics.bandcamp.com. There you can also take a look at the artwork for the album courtesy of Buntrock and Babiak. Campopiano and Morris are going to be touring this spring and summer in support of their new release starting at Kings in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 23rd and for more info on where they’re going to be performing live, peruse through their website at ontologicsmusic.com. In the meantime, give this unique record a listen and dive into something purely original.