IMMANU EL

The style can be described as very Sigur Ros influenced, more akin to their brighter side like you'd find on albums like Agaetis Byrjun. Or if you want a better idea, take the feel that "Untitled 3" off of Sigur Ros' ( ) album would give, and it could probably be applied to this album. Don't get me wrong however, the unoriginality bullet is dodged.

It's also notable that this band contains vocals, unlike most post-rock bands. They don't sound like Jonsi of Sigur Ros, but they are used in a similar fashion. The lyrics aren't really my sort of thing, as the topic of Christianity has never been a favourite of mine, but they're nice for what they do.

So really, if you're a fan of Sigur Ros I hugely recommend this. No need to worry as they aren't a carbon copy or anything as they do come with a sound of their own, but the influence is pretty large. Enjoyable, calming album. 4 stars.

The music has an ethereal, heavenly mood, very relaxing! This style of prog seems to be founded on a consistent, symmetrical rhythmic continuum, over which pleasant and lyrical melodies progress (and they certainly write good melody!). I would not have expected myself to enjoy this style, as I have a personal taste for complex rhythms and changing time-signatures, but Immanu El have enchanted me with this prog-genre and have surely opened up a world of music for me! The style of the vocalist's voice suits the music perfectly. I love the way the tracks build up to a climax, such as in my favourite track "kosmonaut".

4.0 stars

IMMANU EL are amazing. Having said that, I have little to add, seriously. This is when music speaks better and when you need little time to decide whether you like it or not. I do. I like such kind of Post- Rock; it's close to JOHNYTWENTYTHREE, YNDI HALDA or YNDI HALDA musically, but it has vocals and it's more like song-oriented, and here you have SIGUR ROS, late TALK TALK, GREGOR SAMSA and some Shoegaze/Slowcore bands as major influences. Having said that, I must add IMMANU EL aren't derivative or over-influenced by any particular band or style mentioned before. I don't care much about their religious views (in fact I discovered them only from two previous reviews) until music is great enough to stuck to it without noticing ANYTHING else. Same thing with TALK TALK and their spiritual lyrics too, by the way. As long as it's musically awesome you don't need anything else to put your nail on. Highly recommended and good luck to IMMANU ELs!

Immanu El are a recent band that have gotten some fair attention in recent months. Their debut album, "They'll Come, They Come" was quite refreshing thanks to the vocals and many Sigur Rós fans enjoyed them because of it as well. Here's another band that embraces the uplifting aspect of post-rock that many people seem to dismiss and they start doing it by naming themselves just like a certain historical character that many of us commonly know him by the name of Jesus.

Immanu El's music is simply heavenly in all aspects of the word: The music is gentle while never trying to sound like background music, the melodies are always on the positive side, the vocals are light and the lyrics are full of hope and have strong religious connotations without sounding cheesy (and that's always a plus, because I never enjoyed that kind of music because of the lyrics). The music can be seen as the opposite of Gregor Samsa. While Gregor Samsa are always moody, depressing and pessimistic, Immanu El are the complete opposite while still being very closely related to them musically (albeit being a bit faster and louder than Gregor Samsa at times) so fans of Gregor Samsa will also find this band quite enjoyable. The vocals are very soothing and they help a lot in creating the airy atmosphere. The music in general feels very lighthearted, even in crescendos. The only problem I can see in them is that they don't have much of a variety from one song to another, but it isn't much of a trouble and it doesn't affect the enjoyment of the music.

I've never thought that I would ever listen to a Christian Post-Rock band. The good thing is that when taking the band as a whole they don't seem to focus much on this aspect of their music and it's barely noticeable so people who don't really agree with their ideals can still find enjoyment in their music. If you're looking for some pleasant post-rock that's light and positive while still sounding engaging then Immanu El is highly recommended. Its very accessible too so newcomers won't have much of a trouble enjoying them.

Almost 4 stars.