Labels: Adagio830 – Echo Canyon – Protagonist Records
Review by: Oli Saunders
This review coincides nicely with the album coming out on vinyl, I think about a week ago. Sed Non Satiata are from France and have had a number of releases over the years. First a demo of some description and tracks on a compilation, then a split 7” with Aghast, a one sided 12”LP, and most recently a split with Daïtro in 2008. I’ve not heard the first two but the latter three have all been at the very least solid. The split with Daïtro has been their best work in my opinion – both sides blow me away and I hope if you like modern European emo / screamo that you have checked that out.
Onto this album, Sed Non Satiata continue their emo / post hardcore / post rock sound with five new songs. Often fairly long and drawn out, generally overstepping the five minute mark, the vocals are sung, shouted and screamed, with the instruments creating a great atmosphere for this. This new material is definitely more experimental, with lots of exploration into different sounds, often with no vocals for periods. Track three, ‘Entre Les Mots’, is the most ambitious – nine minutes long, wandering all over the place unpredictably, before a piano piece finishes the song off. It is superior to most post rock screamo bands that have come along and used the same basic formula over and over in their music.
It seems to me that the band have defined their general sound and then really played around with making some emotive music that is good and stands out. Track four is another good example of this, using acoustic guitars to provide the rhythm, playing by themselves for the first part. Some lead guitar later comes in over the top along with some spoken vocals. It feels a bit like an interlude but works really well.
Ironically, after my discussion of predictable post rock screamo, Sed Non Satiata are for me at their best when they perform the whole slow build up into a crescendo formula. I guess it is a technique that many people including myself find themselves receptive to. This track is pretty special and almost hits the same heights as their songs from the Daïtro split. That, by the way, is the main downside to the album as a whole – for me it is not as good as the songs from the split in general. Whilst I am glad the band have experimented more, the sounds that they have come up with are for the most part very good without being amazing. It’s an unfair conclusion really as it’s still a solid record, but is an opinion I can’t just shrug off. Overall, any fans of Dominic, Drowning With Our Anchors, Daïtro, and later Envy material who have not checked out this band should do so immediately. And you have already and like any of their previous records I’m pretty sure you will enjoy this.
8th May 2010