Wow... it's apparent from the very start that this massive two-disc set is quite a moving piece of instrumental excellence that builds upon and progresses from the quartet's last full-length of lush, emotional musicianship. In fact, these songs are even more lush and emotional, very effectively recorded and built around repetition and lots of experimental guitar work. In addition to somewhat straightforward and certainly laidback percussion, bass, and guitars, there are a number of loops, drones, subtle scraping textures, etc. employed by the guitarists to create melodic layers and soundscapes that often play lead roles in these compositions. For instance, what I assume are some fluidly EBow generated sustained notes in the distance of "Shooting Gallery" make a massive impact against a few noisier textures, vocal samples, and what seems to be a combination of live and programmed drums. "A Small Death" begins quietly and more tangibly with some of the band's slightly more Radiohead-esque moments (or perhaps more accurately the kind of stuff that Radiohead fans would also enjoy) before increasing in volume and picking intensity prior to fading to an ambient lull. On the second disc things continue with shorter average song lengths and a few tracks that run substantially longer at 11+ minutes apiece. Opener "Constance" is among the selections that more prominently displays the band's emo/indie influences (don't get the wrong idea there, I simply mean rather straightforward clean chords and slowly arpeggiated patterns). "Burnin' Chrome" actually uses far dirtier and heavier distortion than the other tracks, certainly surprising in some respects. Among the more curious influences exemplified herein would be the tribal-esque drumming in "Adamkadmon", some very faint choral vocals amidst the melodic layers in "Until Morning", lots of ethereal rings and drones in "Fun With Shapes and Math" (another of the more moving pieces), the distorted feedback and noise textures of the title track, and the fuzzy sort of progressive rock distortion and percussive flare in "Silicon and Godsflesh". There are actually numerous prog-isms spread out across the two discs, though not always so blatantly. And yes, there are a handful of songs that break up the overall feel for me, for example the almost frantic (by comparison) "Godsflesh and Silicon", with its blatantly electronic rhythms and glitchy sort of foreground structure; or the noisiness in the brief "It's Crowded in Here"... however, there's simply no denying the smooth, billowy construction of a truly moving piece like "My Only". The recording is fucking great as well. Everything is thick and well placed in the mix, and I can cite no real problems with it at all. If I could change one thing it would be to give the bass a bit more prominence against the other instruments, as currently it's important but still quite subtle. Other than that, though, I'd leave it be, I think. Even the programmed drums sound nice, as of course the live percussion does. None of the oft used effects on the guitars really bother me, there's a good level of brightness without any significant separation, and so on. Very well done. A definite sense of added focus and polishing of the edges compared to their last effort. The discs are housed in a nice digipack that folds out to three panels, with a CD housed in a sleeve on each side. All of the imagery has a muddy brown color scheme, layering diagrams and other such visuals with minimal text credits. Not bad, and likely quite expensive! Very good work. A definite step forward from their already impressive previous body of work. Not one that throws them into another league just yet, but they're immeasurably close. Perhaps 90 minutes is a bit much and a solidly balanced hour of the best songs from these two discs would've hit that mark? Either way I'm pleased and really think this band is going to do something beautiful the next time out. Worth checking into, for sure. Instrumental acts are rarely this effective.
[self-released]
Running time - 1:29:43, Tracks: 17
[Notable tracks: My Only, Shooting Gallery, Until Morning, Fun With Shapes and Math, A Long Time Stick]
A Five and Dime Ship - http://www.afiveanddimeship.com
