PART THE SECOND

Maudlin of the Well's Part the Second is an almost unbelievable testament to what can happen between a truly talented artist and devoted fans. This album was funded by fan contributions (in fact expanded from a limited record of old ideas to a complete album project integrating new and old material) and then returned to those fans over the internet for free. This alone is so mind-blowingly cool, how music should be, that the album will hold a place in history that I hope becomes a model for what can be when we keep the music as the focus. But the fact is that the result is worthy of its historical place, a modern masterpiece. How all these things aligned seems almost divine. But perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. The love of music will never die. And not just any music would be able to muster this kind of support. Perhaps it was the fuel of that love that made the music as wonderful as it turned out.

The album sounds like a cross between MotW and Kayo Dot's most recent album, Blue Lambency Downward. Despite being very experimental, this is one of the tightest albums compositionally that I've heard from Toby Driver. Time and again a new sonic surprise is brought out at just the time things could have gotten overlong. Melodic themes pass through different parts in classical fashion, moods ebb and flow perfectly, and rhythms evolve from simple to complex without ever announcing their cleverness.

Unlike previous MotW, most of this album employs clean tones - guitars, piano, sax, violin, and voice. Occasional embellishing effects are more ethereal than aggressive, though there certainly are intense passages. As others have said, this seems more like post rock than post metal. The structure of this album clearly distinguishes it from the last Kayo Dot album, making it more listenable to more casual listeners. Still, I think the subtleties and true brilliance of the album may require a more experienced ear. For those lucky ones, I think a single word will emerge to describe this fantastic piece of work: gorgeous.

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