Review: The Pax Cecilia “Nouveau” CD

This band was formerly known as Autumn Wind Thesis, whose debut I wasn't really too into despite its promise, but this disc carries on in a similar manner that's a little bit more focused. It's still rather caustic material that's based around an emo/screamo kind of metalcore style that uses a lot of caustic guitar parts and frantic layers of screaming vocals (very rarely there's some faint singing involved), but they contrast that with really crushing chord progressions and sinister metal riffs as well as really chilled out clean passages. Throughout the record they make use of acoustic guitars, guitar synth, flute, piano, and cello, with guests handling female vocals, violin, and additional guitar contributions to spice up their core of standard instruments. Some of these accents aren't always very overt, but they're definitely better at the laidback stuff in my opinion. The record is divided into three "acts" with a few different songs making up "scenes" in each "act". I wouldn't say that the combined parts feel completely like one long piece, but they do flow together relatively well, and some pieces do run into one another almost seamlessly. "Beneath Every Powerline There is Still a Graveyard" blends some of the most insanely heavy and aggressive moments with some of the most lush and restrained; and "An Aurora: The Crux Candide" is an instrumental that's one of the most fluid compositions in its use of clean guitars with distant feedback and orchestral sounding synth textures, leading into the excellent fingerpicked instrumental "MDCCLXXV" (which runs a mere 42 seconds). After that "Fluorescence A.D. 1429: Burning the Body of Joan of Arc, or 'Cupid'" opens with some energetic melodies and metallic riffing that make up some of the more effective aggressive moments herein, quickly dropping back and forth between prominent basslines over some piano and clean guitars. "Phosphorescence A.D. 79: Burying the City of Pompeii, or 'Psyche'" is the longest track at eight minutes, opening with some very chilled acoustic guitars that almost have a prog rock sort of lean, while later venturing into some midpaced metallic areas that are also rather effective compared to some of the earlier tracks on the disc. "A Denouncement" closes with nothing but resonant piano and very well executed singing softly placed in the mix, building into layers of emphatic strings and distorted guitars for a rather promising hint at some epic songwriting tactics. The recording is a little raw I'd say, but likely intentionally so considering the jarring approach that they deliver at times. I like the sound because the vocals are quite acerbic for screams, but mixed low so as to maximize effectiveness without being irritating. The guitars are hard panned and can get a little rough at times, tightening up the playing would be nice, but the clean passages are much more fluid and that's what really counts. I'd love to hear the bass given more space, I know I always say that, but it would sound quite excellent here since the percussion is basically in great order. There's a decent amount going on, but I think they handle the volume swells that go along with the contrasting dynamics very well. For a self-released effort this thing looks fucking impressive, housed in a slick gatefold digipack sleeve with a booklet inside for lyrics and additional artwork. All of the art is sort of a gray-ish green tint with paintings and decorative illustrations of women and lettering, with a few color photos as well. The lyrics themselves are presented by act rather than scene, and while narrative, are not arranged in the manner that the actual division of tracks might suggest. They're quite curious actually, varying from strange to rather moving, so I'm definitely intrigued by the approach. "And on my deathbed you'll be screaming repentance to the rhythm of my slowing heartbeat. God, I have never known a thought so lovely..." I like this for the most part. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because despite some setbacks there's a lot of creativity and intrigue here and I can tell they've got a solid vision in place, which is very cool. There are some amazing passages as well that definitely make up for some of the less tangible wanderings. This is one to watch. It needs work, but I enjoy what they're moving towards, and once they nail it? It'll be big.