Labels: Sound Devastation
Review by: Kunal Nandi
Montana have certainly moved on from their Botch-inspired demo days to something refreshingly unexpected here. What struck me first was the restraint and subtlety on show, gently atmospheric but still relatively frantic, thusly avoiding full-on post-rock, post-metal, post-whatever boring blah. The quieter sections mean that when they do crank it up a notch, the heavy bits feel all the more weighty, but generally there’s definitely a commendable less-is-more approach at play. Sonically it’s not quite what I expected either. The guitars are lower in the mix, not maxing on the distortion, with plenty of tight, busy, varied drumming and yelled vocals throughout. The latter aspect can be quite jarring when the music’s being introspective, forcefully stark above the shoegaze, but even that makes for an interesting listen. Songs sometimes chop and change a little too much, weakening the effect of all those neat melodic motifs, but it’s a definite grower. So, a bit Envy, a bit Pelican and a bit Botch, but all Montana at the end of the day.