AT THE END OF MYSELF

I've listened through the album a couple of times now and I feel I can give some of my thoughts. Initially, I wanted to give a blow-by-blow but then realized I was writing like five or six comments per song. If I had done that this already overly long review would have been much longer. So, instead, I'll be a bit more general.

I think this is a fantastic album. I think they achieved a very lush sound throughout, even in the soft sections (excluding the soft sections in which they didn't want lush which, appropriately enough, had a lot of space). I think the tones they chose and the finished mix is very good. They've achieved a full sound without either destroying the ability to appreciate every instrument.

I think this is an extremely musically mature album. The proggy parts are complex and meaty without seeming overly showboaty; and the straight-forward songs are tasteful and interesting with great hooks and aren't mind-numbingly dull (as so many overly simplistic songs seem to me). That's a tough balance and I think they pulled it off well. Regarding the more straight-forward songs, my strong impression, even ignoring the proggy stuff on the album, was that they were composed by skilled musicians playing below their ability so as to serve the song; and that's evident in the final composition. That's part of the overall maturity. Well done.

One of my favorite things about the album is the emotional progression of the music. I'm not a huge lyric guy, but from what I understand of the lyrics they revolve around a character starting in a dark place, finding God and eventually coming to a place of peace/happiness/joy/fulfillment/something positive. I apologize if that's not accurate. But, I think the music, itself, strongly, though subtly, echoed that progression. The first part of the album seems to me to have a morose, bleak quality to it. It has a sadness. The music then develops a restrained hopeful quality. And, finally, the album ends joyfully. I don't know if that was intentional or not but I really enjoyed that the music had a strongly evocative element.

To give some specifics, here are a few of my favorite parts. And these are just a few; there are certainly more.

I loved the funky, proggy vibe in Shadows and thought it was a fantastic extended intro into Pushing Forward. The solos in Pushing Forward were awesome. The lullaby quality near the end of Finale was a great touch. The jungle-like intro into Walls I Build was cool. Alone had, I think, some of the coolest showcasing of each of their skills: the bass work throughout the song but especially the riff at around 2:17, the guitar solo at around 3:27 was sick, and the drum work starting around 4:10 was awesome. The guitar lick in Pushing You at around 2:20 had, to me, a great deal of attitude which I thought was really fun. And I loved the softness and piano work in much of Let It Go. In fact, in keeping with my above comments about the emotional progression of the music, the composition of Let It Go had a very relieved quality, like a musical sigh of relief.

I only have one minor constructive critique, and not enough to knock the album down in stars. (I don't knock it down in stars because I realize this critique may be entirely personal preference, such that had they gone my suggested route others may have critiqued my suggestion.) In Walls I Build there is the pre-chorus with the low building guitar and vocals ("I can't see all the walls I've built which isolate me" and so on) which gives way to an instrumental chorus section with ascending chords. In the pre-chorus I kept wanting the singer to... explode, or get bigger, or belt, or something. I think there's room there for a little vocal fireworks. And the ascending chorus section I thought could have used more active drums than just the straight kick with snare on 2/4 (or 3 depending on how you count it). I think there's room there for a full blown drum solo, but I realize that could negate the somewhat somber tone of the song. Nevertheless, I thought the drummer could have been, at least, a bit bigger. As it stands with the drums being fairly simplistic at that section, it feels a bit plodding. However, this is really a minor comment. I think the song is, overall, excellent.

Regarding the drummer (I single him out because I am a drummer), I think he did a fantastic job. He's obviously an extremely gifted drummer. He was consistently tasteful and interesting, and that one drum solo section I mentioned above was awesome. If I had to offer a critique of him, which I would hesitate to do as he is really an excellent drummer, it would be that sometimes he felt a little overly restrained. I could have used a bit more flash here and there; and I think the music is complex enough to have warranted it. At any rate, that is a very minor comment against otherwise superb drumming.

So, overall, the album is fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone, prog fans and not. Echoes of Giants have created something really special.