Labels: Deep Elm
Review by: Gareth L
The latest album by arguably the best band on Deep Elm right now. Surprised Andy let me have this one actually, as I know he’s a fan of their moody Three Mile Pilot-esque stylings. Their previous album, ‘Funeral Car’, was fantastically good, full of twists and turns. What makes this band different for me is the emphasis they place on the piano which tends to lead the songs rather than simply accompany them. And while this record isn’t quite up to the aforementioned one, it still is rather beautiful. The reason for me not liking it as much is probably because overall there are less screamy discordant moments (hardly any, in fact) and less of the explosiveness of the previous record and their other stuff. Sure, there are loud moments and dynamic build-ups and so on but nothing as screamy or loud as before. I won’t dwell any more on comparing to previous releases as this is actually a really good album. Tracks like ‘Playing The Martyr’ and ‘Mothball Fleet (Counterattack)’ are standouts, driving forward fantastically and making me rather embarrassingly nod my head like a crazy person and play air drums while sat at my laptop writing this review. If you like Desert City Soundtrack, you’ll like this. If you’re new to the band I recommend you start with one of their previous releases.