POST ROCK/MATH ROCK

"Ashes in the Snow" Delicate and hauntingly beautiful, the piece gradually builds until a heart-wrenching electric guitar note breaks forth, forcing the music to climb even more. Stellar melodies and tasteful repetition make for a powerful and emotional work of art.

"Burial at Sea" A sweet guitar melody begins the second piece, which almost rivals the first in terms of beauty and composition. The guitars are wonderful and the arrangement is magnificent. It all culminates in a crashing conclusion.

"Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn" Yet again, Mono treats listeners to movingly gorgeous music that takes them through several moods, this time in a relatively short time frame, and using strings and piano.

"Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)" More straightforward than the other tracks, especially in terms of drumming, this piece is a stunning yet despondent one. The clean guitars once again enrich the music until the last several moments, when, as usual, everything erupts in a thunderous climax, leaving a grating denouement.

"Follow the Map" A simple piano starts this one. What serves as the shortest track by a long shot is very quiet music and lead guitar in the vein of David Gilmour.

"The Battle to Heaven" In keeping with the formulaic yet dynamic approach, this piece offers more striking moments thanks to gorgeous and skillful guitar work. As with elsewhere, the drumming has an organic sound that appeals to me.

"Everlasting Light" More of the same this is- by this point it is just a matter of allowing the music to wash over since this sounds almost exactly like everything that came before, and yet it is still an astounding tapestry of textures.

The songs themselves are vast, blazing deserts of sonic power, that conjure up images of hope, love, sadness, and fragile beauty. Every track is seems to live and breathe, which is not always the case with most progressive rock bands. The intense build-ups and climaxes characteristic of GY!BE's sound are present here, but are employed more creatively than on their other albums, so as not to make them the main focus of the songs. Instead, the main draw of this masterpiece is the band's amazing use of field recordings and spoken word, with two perfect examples being the deep, tragic "They Don't Sleep Anymore on the Beach" and the hauntingly beautiful "Chart #3".

"Lift Your Skinny Fists..." is a wonderful album, and one of the few truly deserving of the term "symphonic". It's heavily layered sound allows for listeners to discover something new with each listen, and its vast scope makes it's the truly focused quality of its sound even more impressive. This one is beyond doubt an essential album. 5/5.

The template "Yanqui" uses is repeated throughout this album: slow, delicate, threatening introductions, swelling over the course of several minutes to nightmarish crescendos of distortion and frantic rhythm. This is largely accomplished by the heavy use of violin and guitar distortion, and will almost certainly make the listener feel something. Many won't like "Yanqui" sound, it can simply be too dark and too stressful to be enjoyed; for those initiated into the conventions of the genre, it offers an original sound of destructive, depressing instrumentals which pack a whallop. Play "Yanqui" to clear the room at a party, scare your neighbors, and make your relatives wonder if maybe "your 'music' has gone too far".

A dark, brooding highlight of the genre.

Typical of the genre, "LYSFLATH" takes its time to build musically, establishing simple atmospherics and growing to a few powerful moments of genuine intensity, unsettling to some listeners because of its extremely depressing, enervating feel. I like this style of music, finding it an excellent change of pace from my usual dose of melody and flashy technical musicianship. It works very well as study/background music, stylishly drifting into the ether only to emerge just when one has forgotten it was there.

The playing and songwriting is actually quite good, but there is a ton of sonic-bushwacking the listener will have to go through to find it. There are frequent empty spaces and aimless spoken-word sections, and I can't help but think that some judiscious editing in the studio may help tighten this album's focus.

While fans of the band and genre will doubtless find innumerable highlights hidden within, casual fans will find getting through this album's double-length a unique chore. Not the best place to start one's post-rock journey.

As soon as the intriguing introduction "Punk Rock" fades away, a bland, repetative exercise in pointless guitar strumming and rhythmic minimalism aimlessly roams. Fans of the post-rock genre are used to this, at least to some degree, but for many groups this sort of subtle noodling acts as the calm before the storm... on this release, it's the name of the game, and it isn't even done that well. All the songs are very similar, very sedated, and very bland. The listener will be hard-pressed to remember anything specific about these songs, since they all feel as if they're simply there, filling airy space which could be filled with something more interesting.

Many other post-rock bands do what Mogwai is doing here much better, and "Come on Die Young" should be overlooked by all but the most dedicated fans of the genre.

Once again I am happy to review an album from a Mexican project, this time an act with the name of "Lost Reverie" which is actually not a band, but the work of one single man who has shared his musical skills with a very nice debut album. The best thing, is that Juan Herrera is a young guy so we will have (I hope) Lost Reverie for long time.

His debut album is called "Desiderata" which features 8 compositions and a total time of 58 minutes approx. The album kicks off with "Umi" which slowly starts with some synth effects that remind me to some New Age acts, however that is not what we will hear in this album, a few seconds later the guitars enter with a calm sound but that will last only for some seconds before the predominant powerful guitar sound appears creating a stronger structure, the guitars immediately takes you to a metal oriented song, the drums are very good but what I like are also the "background" noises, some sort of piano sound and some programming here and there. A couple of minutes later, the song calms down a little bit, there are nice bass notes, and there, once again, the song becomes stronger with the addition of excellent piano notes which create a very nice atmosphere.

"Us" is the longest track reaching almost 15 minutes which again starts with a very soft and calm sound, mainly created by piano notes, and just before the first minute ends, again a stronger guitar appear. Little by little a new structure is being created and that metal oriented sound prevails. A couple of minutes later there is a short stop and the song starts again, I mean it is like a new passage which again begins slower and then faster and stronger, the music sometimes remind me to Demians or Porcupine Tree, or even Dream Theater in some short moments. I like the way he uses his guitar and how he manages to catch the listener with the song's different passages. It is a very nice epic which ends with a softer and gentler sound.

Next one is "Drift", nice charming guitar sound that reminds me to the beginning of a Explosions in the Sky song, so here the post rock label could fit perfectly. After 2 minutes and a very short stop, drums appear and that gently guitar sound keeps playing and giving you a sense of tranquility. But then he could not have left out that stronger sound that characterizes him and now from post rock the label would have a minor change, to post metal. The end is very emotional; this is one of the best songs in my opinion.

"Morning" is a short metal guitar oriented song that works as the prelude to "Photographs" which continues as if it were the second part of morning, so the first seconds are pretty alike, later some other synth effects and new musical elements appear which fit perfectly on the song, while the guitar is always with the song (album) leadership. During the second half of the song there is a different sound, maybe more electronic, but works good, later the metal sound returns.

"Memento" has a special atmosphere, you can close your eyes and see images, that drum and the effects and strange noises works great, then a more elaborated drumming starts to build up a new sound which is progressing little by little, until the song reaches its climax. A very nice composition to my ears.

"Sue" is a beautiful track, this time he uses an acoustic guitar playing a primordial role in the song, then he puts his electric guitar over the acoustic but in a gently manner, not in that metal sound, more to the soft side of post rock, so this is like a rest of the heavier side of Lost Reverie.

To finish this excellent debut album, we have "Ame" which continues with that soft and calm sound, which after a minute is complemented with some synth effects and then giving the piano its own moment in the song. Later all of a sudden the song explodes and within some seconds it returns to its calmer sound. And yes, as you guess that calmer passage was just made in order to give pass to the powerful metal oriented sound he loves. Then there is an acoustic guitar that sounds very nice and there is also something that I am not sure is a Mellotron, but sound like if it was, giving to the song a very nice atmosphere, and very interesting.

This is a comfortable debut from a new Mexican artist, for those who know me, I am not that keen on metal oriented music, though I like some bands or albums, and this time I am happy with this record no matter its metal tendencies, so I truly recommend it to you, who love metal and post rock, I believe you might find it interesting.

My final grade, 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Enjoy it!

1. They're all shot this winter (6:12) Beautiful guitar begins this piece, slowly building with patient ambience. Serene waves of sound broken by sudden blasts of shrilly guitar with jagged rhythms and metrical patterns. Minimalist approach at times with a lonely guitar plucking gently in the silence.

2. Three Tired Hands (4:00) This has a quirky rhythm 'click' effect that echoes while a western guitar twangs out of sync. A very off kilter and effective approach to the music and very atmospheric. Reminds me of the music from a Tarantino film, a western genre, and highly evocative and pleasant. For me this music was inciting images of a plain desert and a man wandering aimlessly as the sun beats down.

3. As Fresh as the Air of the Night (4:06) A strong bass line begins this and the influences of Godspeed You! Black Emperor shine through. Probably not as meandering and subtle as that band but still as effective. Music to tune into on headphones. The swirling seascape sounds are overlayed with the off kilter rhythmic guitar tones. It feels like a night atmosphere and as if something is creeping slowly towards someone. The rhythm gains momentum and becomes estranged until it locks into a strange metrical pattern. There are no drums on this track again unnecessary. The ending is very creepy.

4. Everyday I set my Gaze towards the East waiting for the Sun (6:38) Terrific title for a track. A violin sound begins this track. Perhaps inspired by GYBE's East Hastings, though not as good as Godspeed You! Black Emperor's track. This one sounds most like Godspeed You! Black Emperor of all tracks as it feels very minimalist and shrouded in mystique. The creepy sound is ethereal due to the use of plucking strings out of sync with low bell tones. Sounds like a horror movie soundtrack but never overbearing. Some sections are ambient and others are unsettling. The low drones and low fi instruments are balanced beautifully to create the sense of isolation.

In summary, there is a collection of ominous, foreboding unsettling music in sections and yet it is restful in other places with heavy influences of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Very funereal and bleak at times, while there are moments of bliss and serenity. Close your eyes, turn up the headphones and let the music transport you to another place.

The sound is unexpected for a prog band and it did not really hook me in. I was not impressed at all with any of the tracks.

1. Meant For You is a Beach Boys cover with a very pseudo punk sound. Ramones or Clash come to mind with math rock estranged rhythms. Not really my taste at all.

2. Koka Kola is an interesting homage to the wonderful life adding drink. A cover from clash and it sounds like it but not as good as the punk progenitors.

3. Pixies cover version of Tame is ok. Perhaps the best track on this EP. Very strong bass line, weird rhythms, short n sweet like the other tracks.

4. Weezer's Blast Off is given some rather strange treatment here. Sliding guitar played passionately, heavy sound, with Beach Boys meets Ramones type vocalisations, quirky mid section with vocaphone style guitar. It slows at the end and has spaced out guitar twiddles, indescribable atmosphere, and a bit trippy.

5. The Polaris cover of Hey Sandy ends the EP. Jangly guitar, vocals with harmonies, punk sound, same as the others.

Best thing about this is its a short EP. I did not take to this punked out crashing brand of music. In summary, I did not like this but I can see why some will. It is not my style of music and I cannot rate higher than a 1 star as I would never bother listening to this a second time. The production is so thin and its too raw to give credit to. The musicianship is nothing special nor are the vocals. The band perhaps are finding their way but this is not a great way to be introduced to them.

My first reaction after listening to this album is simple. So I am going to keep this review relatively simple. This is excellent study music! I say this because I was thrashing this throughout my studies today, or actually marking student's work, because I teach at college level. I got the marking done and enjoyed the music so it achieved its purpose. It is background music in this sense and I am not a fan of this type of music, certainly I would rather actual songs that I can sit down with and really analyse. However, It is what it is. Very well accomplished musicianship with emotional charges that climax and descend over a soaring wall of sound. A 30 minute EP that show great potential for albums to come in the Post/Math genre.

The Album artwork is rather bland but the music is exciting. The way it begins, a track called 'Quit', with a minimalist piano and a beautiful guitar motif is very relaxing and calming to the senses. Steffan's keyboards are fabulous on this track, very inventive and relaxing. There are some strange samples heard, perhaps bringing to mind a peaceful walk along the river or a strenous mountain climb to the clouds. Many images may flash through your mind during this album. I thought of images of clouds merging, waterfalls cascading down and splashing into fountains, a space walk among the stars, and even a fire burning up forests. The image is thought provoking and you can take from it what you wish and the music never loses substance. It is never overbearing, rather a subtle approach to the genre, the drum patterns are deceptively simple and never overtake the effect of tranquility and peace that the EP exudes.

There are very few actual highlights to take note of, because the whole album tends to merge into one track, blending seamlessly, although I adored the guitar work and structure of 'Solitude'. The way that Jörn Krüßel and Matthias Brinkmann's guitars sing and sweep across the metrical time signatures of drum and bass is exhilarating. A wonderful well executed piece of music that draws the listener in. And it ends with a swooshing sound that criss crosses between the headphones.

There is compelling power on this album, the way that it builds, rising and falling in crescendos and certainly it is one of the better instrumental albums I have heard in recent years. Better than 'Ommadawn' by Mike Oldfield which I found to be rather a mediocre album despite the ravings on the PA here. However, if you are into this type of music I suggest first listening before purchase. On the subject of I Am The Architect's debut, there are some wonderful moments on the EP and it perhaps deserves many repeat listenings before rating, but my initial reaction is to award it at least 3 stars, because undoubtedly the innovation and musical structure of the album as a whole piece is rather remarkable.

"Glosoli" is a fantastic way to open up the album, with what sounds like feet marching across a snow-swept landscape before erupting in the kind of guitar noise-fest this band does so well. "Hoppipolla" is one of the poppiest moments on the album, and it's a fantastic song. "Saeglopur" is the masterpiece of the album; after peaking early in a rising crecendo of noise, it continues post-eruption for another 3 minutes in transcendent beauty.

In between many of the sung tunes are instrumentals that might remind some of that other Iclandic band, Mum, particularly their electronic masterpiece YESTERDAY WAS DRAMATIC. I thought this was the direction the band might be moving in, and was excited by the possibilities.