THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AMPTRAIN

Approach is everything in playing music and often bands that started a musical project for one reason find that it evolved into something completely different but the chemistry of different band members finding a similar approach is what allowed it to grow into a completely new entity. Such is the case of the Danish post-rock band LISERSTILLE (alternately spelled Lis Er Stille and means Lis (female name) is quiet) which formed in 2004 in Aarhus, Denmark intended as a project that would provide a musical accompaniment to visual arts.

Once the demos were recorded, the label Target Records displayed an immediate interest and the visual project turned into a bonafide band project that has carried on into the modern day. So far LISERSTILLE has released a total of seven albums with this one, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AMPTRAIN having been released in 2006. This band started out as and remains the quartet of Martin Byrialsen (vocals, piano), Tue Schmidt Rasmussen (guitar, effects), Asbjørn Helboe (bass, synth) and Jon Gotlev (drums, electronics, effects) however the secret fourth member has been Rosanna Lorenzen who contributes cello and backing vocals.

LISERSTILLE didn't waste any time in getting their music out there. The same year this debut emerged the band was already playing lots of live gigs including the Roskilde Festival. In the world of post-rock there have been many avenues to create a dreamy musical procession with cyclical loops of sound and otherworldly atmospheric effects and in the case of LISERSTILLE, these Danes didn't look towards the more straight forward sounds of Mogwai or Explosions In The Sky but rather found more inspiration from Iceland's Sigur Ros as they cast a hypnotic spell that forged a bridge between the world of post-rock, space rock and prog.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AMPTRAIN is very much a product of the 21st century with a crystal clear production but offers a traditional vinyl album's playing time just barely over 41 minutes. The album features only four tracks each slightly longer than the next. The opening "Styrke" starts things at just over eight minutes and the closing "End Credits" sprawls to almost thirteen. "Styrke" begins the album strangely with just vocals. It sounds like some sort of singer / songwriter dealie-bop without instrumentation but after the main melodic groove is firmly cast, the rock elements burst in to add the heft needed to make this one live up to the promises of amps blasting. Interestingly the word godspeed is used quite a bit here however this band is less abstract than Godspeed You! Black Emperor and although gloomy, more emotive.

The following "Forsyn" truly evokes Sigur Ros especially on its lauded "Ágætis byrjun" album with the post-rock cyclical nature decorated with dream pop serotonin releasing happiness and sophisticated electronic ambiance in contrapuntal waves. While a little too close for comfort in many ways regarding Iceland's top post-rock export, LISERSTILLE does deliver a different style of rock with power chords punctuating the melancholic march with off-kilter time signatures. In other words while Sigur Ros excels in maximizing the dreamy ambience without engaging as many outbursts (on some albums), LISERSTILLE makes it a point to deliver a variety of heftier rock elements. There are some funk bass slapping and guitar licks as well.

"Løbetid" is my least liked track here. This is sort of a Sigur Rose by the books number and begins slow and whiny. Unfortunately i find the melody irritating as well. Who knows why but this track has elements that conspire to push skip but of course i sat it out twice in order to fairly review this album. Can't stand dude's vocals here and even the thundering rock climax at the end isn't enough. "End Credits" is a different story. Not only the longest track on the album but the one that appeals to me the most. Starting with some nice echoey guitars and simulated chimes via the keys, the band seems to recalibrate itself so that all the sounds are once again pleasing to my ears. As expected this 13-minute sprawler spends a lot of time on one musical motif and then ratcheting up to the next and offering a grand finale of a climax.

Overall this is a mixed bag. LISERSTILLE hadn't quite latched onto a truly original sound quite yet. Sigur Ros is the clear point of worship and although the band does manage not to sound like a clone, the soundscapes are more than a bit derivative but post-rock is a difficult genre to truly find complete originality so i'll cut them some slack. I guess what bugs me the most is the inconsistent nature of quality. On the surface if this was the first post-rock album you'd ever experienced then this would blow you away but if you're well steeped in the history of the genre and reveled in the best the genre has to offer then this one doesn't quite have what it takes to enter the world of excellence although it's very close. Performances are spectacular, the diversity of the tracks is also well thought out. In the end my main complaints come from the too close to Sigur Ros aspects and the fact that the vocals and melodies don't always sound pleasing to my ears. My subjective take of course but it is what it is.

3.5 rounded down