HOW LONELY SITS THE CITY

Alas, Alas!!

One of the last post rock gems I was introduced to is this exceptional album from a rather new american post rock band "The Ascent of Everest". I want to thank my friend Héctor who helped me discovering their music.

When it's about post rock, I am always eager to new recommendations, I am not an expert on this subject but I do love this music genre so when I find some new bands I always welcome them with my arms open. This time, The Ascent of Everest left me cold, in the sense that I did not expect something that good, I mean, most of the prog rock I listen to is great but this band caught my ears' attention since the very first second until the end of the record, so in the end I found something that really moved me. Their debut album was released in 2006 and is entitled "How Lonely Sits the City", featuring 5 longs songs and a total time of 54 minutes of amazing post rock.

The album kicks off with "Alas, Alas" The Breath of Life" which is a really amazing track full of emotion and melancholy. Twelve minutes full of enchanting sounds that will intrigue the listener, making him/her feel comfortable, happy, excited, etc, the atmosphere and mood created by all the string instruments, mean guitar, bass, violin and cello make a pure harmony that will catch the listener's senses and keep them until the very end. The song is progressing little by little, first with a soft and calm sound but later with a musical explosion that all of a sudden stops, just in order to give pass to a brand new structure that again builds up, creating a mixture of feelings and sounds. This very first song of the album is amazing, beautiful, and absolutely brilliant.

"As the City Burned, We Trembled for We Saw the Making of Their Undoing in Our Own Hearts", a long title for this which happens to be the shortest song (7 minutes); which starts much more aggressive than the first one, making a quite different atmosphere, with the same string instruments but this time accompanied with a noticeable piano sound here and there. Minutes later, the song becomes a bit softer even making a short stop where only percussion sounds, anyway, when this little passage ends all of a sudden the song explodes turning into a heavier guitar driven post rock song. It is also noticeable, that a band like GY!BE is a clear influence to The Ascent of Everest.

"Molotov"; when you think you are listening to the previous song, you may be wrong, it is already the third song called Molotov, but it follows perfectly the latest one. This, start softly with a piano, and a minute later, cello, drums and guitar appear and gives a darker atmosphere. During the song, you will find yourself very excited due to the saucerful of sounds that this track offers, it is like a mini trip where you experiment all your life stages, I may be exaggerating, but I am just writing what I feel when I listen to this extraordinary album.

"Threnody for the Victims of November Second", is a very touching track. It begins with a kind of dark and nervous atmosphere created by some weird noises. After a minute, spoken word appears telling the story behind this song, and it continues like this during the next 3 or 4 minutes until drums begin, the vocals are still there but not as clear as minutes before, this, because there is a strong guitar sound creating that nervous atmosphere. But wait, at half the song there is only cello and vocals for some seconds, and later a new structure is being built up, now turning that nervous into a melancholic and even sad atmosphere. Excellent song!!!

The final and longest song is entitled "Mountains", and it happens the same thing that I described with Molotov, you don't notice it is a new song until you check the counter and realize a new track is playing. So despite these are very different songs, in a way they are all connected, that is why I say you will be "on it" since the very first second until the end of the album. In this song, after a couple of minutes of noises, vocals appear along with piano and string, without a particular rhythm, the fact is that little by little new elements are being incorporated to the music, so the scene is changing every second, hope you get what I mean. This is a very colorful melody, which resumes what The Ascent of Everest sound is about.

If you are looking for lesser known bands, and of course not so popular post rock, you are invited to listening to The Ascent of Everest, I bet, you won't regret. As you noticed, I am really happy with this album, I can't get enough of it and every time I listen to it I experiment the same things, nowadays we don't feel such a thing that often. My final grade, 5 stars, highly recommended!

Enjoy it!

THE ASCENT OF EVEREST are a Post-Rock band from Nashville,Tennessee. I have this feeling they probably won't be playing at the Grand Ole Opry though. I'd love to see the reaction of the audience for that one. The music here reminded me a lot of GY!BE with the strings and that melancholic mood. Also I thought of "At The Soundless Dawn" by the RED SPAROWES, not because of the music but that because of that apocalyptic theme. I just watched "The Book Of Eli" on the weekend which is set in a post-apocalyptic world, and it helped me to appreciate what they were trying to do here. Oh yeah the song titles tell the story too, much the way the RED SPAROWES do it.

"Alas, alas ! The Breath Of Life !" opens wih thick atmosphere that covers the soundscape. The guitar starts to make some sounds then drums before 2 minutes. Strings after 2 1/2 minutes. The sound brightens after 4 minutes and the tempo picks up. It's pretty intense after 7 1/2 minutes. A calm before 9 minutes with strings as the drums slowly pound. Emotion. It's building again before it settles late. "As The City Burned We Trembled For We Saw The Makings Of It's Undoing In Our Own Hearts" opens with strings before a full sound enters quickly. It settles in after a minute with drums, piano and vocals. Strings are back as it builds. It kicks in after 3 1/2 minutes with guitar. It settles to end it with piano and strings and blends into "Molotov". It picks up after 1 1/2 minutes with drums, piano and strings. Guitar before 3 1/2 minutes as it turns intense. A calm before 6 minutes as reserved vocals and strings take over. It then gets fuller.

"Threnody (For Victims Of November Second)" opens with atmosphere before these spoken words come in. It really sounds like Billy Graham preaching as he always does in that reserved manner without theatrics.The music comes in and almost drowns him out at times as he continues. Cool section. Post-Rock guitars light it up after 8 1/2 minutes. "Mountains : Horror Majesty And Awe / Collapse Into Understanding / Sing Out As Hope Rises With The First Breath Of Dawn" opens with some powerful atmosphere. It settles with reserved vocals 2 minutes in. It picks up 5 minutes in then settles with strings after 7 minutes. Children laughing and playing end it. Hope rises indeed.

An emotional ride ? An escape from reality ? This is what Post-Rock is about, and these Nashville boys have succeeded in a big way.