I had reservations about getting this album; Red Sparowes opened for them at a show here a couple months ago, and what I heard was that they blew Pelican away. Well, that put me off getting this album for a while, but now that I've caved, I'm glad I did. The two bands are clearly related - I could get a lot of flak from specialists in the instrumental metal/post-rock arena, but they share a lot of characteristics. The format and pacing of their songs is similar - drawn-out, cinematic, heavy - and though I thought the Red Sparowes album had something Pelican doesn't (well, aside from a lap steel), this is still a fantastic record, better than I thought it'd be by far, and an excellent find for those thirsting for more music in the same vein.
The opener, "Last Day of Winter" is a great representative for the rest of the album. Heavy but melodic, guitars screaming everywhere, lofty highs and deep lows... it even has a little acoustic outro. It's like a little album to itself. "Autumn into Summer" takes its time a bit more, growing for about four minutes without a hint of distortion, then some really fantastic thrashing and even a little sludgy bass for a bit to satisfy the metalheads. That's actually the side of the album I like the least - when it moves towards darker, heavier metal, and less the soaring melodies and crunchy high-end distortion. "March to the Sea," then, is probably my least favorite song because it is the most like that. There are still very enjoyable parts, but as a matter of taste I prefer the other songs. There is a break for an untitled acoustic track, which is decent but when you've got Jack Rose in your collection every other acoustic break just sounds amateurish. It's a nice break from the rough stuff, though, as "Red Ran Amber" comes in pretty hard, sounding to me more like a heavier alt-rock instrumental than anything else until a fantastic, distortion drenched break a few minutes through, ushering in a quiet middle section that blows up at the end. It's a really well-paced song - the movements are self-contained but work great as parts of a larger whole. "Aurora Borealis" is a bit of a different sound, embellishing a repeating figure a la early Mogwai. The closer, "Sirius," establishes a really great melody late in the song, one of my favorites on the album - it's short but seems just right, a little treat to end with.
For anyone who likes Explosions in the Sky, Saxon Shore, Red Sparowes, and that sort of instrumental rock, this is a great asset to the collection. It's a bit of a different sound, which at times may bother you as it did me, but for the most part its just great stuff, so give it a shot. I wish I could give you "Last Day of Winter," but it's awfully large so you'll have to satisfy yourself with "Sirius."
This is very interesting. I’m going to try it. I’ve always been interested in the right-hard/left-brain thing. Oddly enough, I am right-handed, but don’t really feel right-handed. I do not instinctively know my right hand, do not feel comfortable with my right-handedness. I’m not left-handed either, though. So I’ve dubbed my condition nomba-dexterous. Anyone else out there feel the way I do?
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