THE FIRE IN OUR THROATS WILL BECKON THE THAW

With their second album Pelican achieve new levels without changing structure or even sounding repetitive. The guitar tones within The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw are more natural pushed tube amp sounding, loud for that blast of power rather than the overdriven distorted sound from the Australasia album. Overall this produces a bigger guitar sound, perhaps less wall to wall than the previous Pelican full length album but no less forceful. This time round Pelican weave in more nuances to their tight, even at times unflexible sound. Acoustic guitars are built beside the layers of electric guitars, this does give the band a broader base and perhaps future works could spring from this. They have certainly refined and sculpted their brand of heavy instrumental music, there is a fantastic progressive nature to the music. The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw is a big and fresh sounding album, and though I had doubts as to how Pelican would carry the momentum from their debut there should have been no such concern, The Fire In Our Throats... is a successful effort. The beauty with the album is the complete composure and consistency of the music, the album is a one large orchestration of super riffing. Vocals are never missed, if we have to talk about vocals. Pelican will never need them and hopefully will never resort to using them. The songs speak for themselves. And as powerful and sonic as the album is it also makes for a great background ambient when the moment strikes. So where do the go next? That's the burning issue for me, but I get the impression it will be another level, perhaps a drawing back of the tempestuous power, but we'll take this one now for sure.