JETTISON

Jettison, apparently released not through Sargent House, but through Velocity Records (I'm not sure what Equal Vision is)--the same label for Thursday and Scary Kids Scaring Kids--is the sixth full-length studio album by this North Irish Progressive Post-Rock band. A follow-up to The Endless Shimmering (2017), this is a song cycle, a "Full Score" (as suggested by what would otherwise be the tenth track), just one piece of music throughout the whole.

I guess I'll get this feeling out of the way and out into the open, because I couldn't shut the f*ck up about it last time I typed this all out: I don't like Post-Rock. That's as simply as I can put it. I think it's boring, static and especially now, existing for, what, 30-odd years(?), has nothing new to offer listeners anymore. It very nearly never was and certainly rapidly ceased to be anything that I would consider 'progressive' or experimental. And unfortunately, the wide majority of this album, save, say, two tracks for sure (personally, in my as-humble-as-possible opinion), that is all this album has to offer. It's artfully done in general scope, sure, with the inclusion of spoken monologues (and one dialogue) and a string ensemble (which I think at one point or another is sampled) interacting with the otherwise normal input from the band, but... they have done so much better.

"I Dive Pt 1" is our first monologue, simplicity atop the aforementioned string ensemble. It gives way to "II Dive Pt 2" (of course) with something at least familiar. Simple drums, singular guitar strums; it's got a pretty nice riff. The guitar effects and the rhythm section are them. This is it, right? [I'm getting drunk, if possible.] Finally we have something that is awesome, the surefire highlight of the whole, "III Lung". The rhythm section is strong and the riffs are super cool. This is ASIWYFA. Praise be. We get our second monologue from a second party on "IV In Air". Light build to the end, which is a pretty lovely noise and drone. It then builds to... nothing at all on "V Hold". Not a monologue, but the short dialogue I alluded to. The rhythm is steady. Super static track. Not a whole lot here.

The sharpest juxtaposition happens here, only because we aren't bridging two tracks together for once on "VI Submerge". Pretty cool lead guitar here. I'd say check it out, if anyone felt like reading this haha. It all falls away to simplicity and then builds once more (What the f*ck is this? Post-Rock? /s). What it builds into is its sister song, "VII Emerge", the other surefire highlight on the album. Despite the fact that this feels more like what they had done nearly 10 years ago, that's actually what makes it worth hearing and actually interesting [To clarify, I mean sonically, not because it sounds like the old Kany-- er, I mean, like the old ASIWYFA]. Again, sorry, mates. Just surprised I didn't hear a "Hoo!" on this one haha. This gives way to our title track, "VIII Jettison", with a solid backbeat and the return of the string ensemble. A pretty strong number, really. It falls away to ambience, eventually opening up to the final track, "IX A.D. Poet", the true, singular return of the string ensemble. Very pretty, very wanting, almost melancholic.

That's it... I'm just praying to God above that they do something a little more interesting next time haha. I'm so jaded... I thought they were going in a great, interesting, even unique direction (a continued uniqueness), but... God, this made me have so many doubts about that. Peace!

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