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Perhaps - Volume One CD (album) cover

VOLUME ONE

Perhaps

 

Post Rock/Math rock

3.94 | 110 ratings

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Master of Time
5 stars This review is a long time coming, as I was asked to write one all the way back in November, but I'm finally writing it now. The core of the band consists of just a drummer, a bassist, and a guitar player, but there are many guest musicians, including saxophone, trumpet, and strings. This album was actually my introduction into math rock, a genre I have grown to love, and it is still my favorite album of the genre. The piece starts out much like Close to the Edge, building quietly for a bit until it finally comes frantically crashing in. The whole thing is very high energy, with a constant unrelenting rhythm section. Guitar is for the most part the main focus, but sax will occasionally take over and there are times where they both are coming at you at the same time. It being so frantic and high energy you might expect it to kind of meander on at times, but it feels focused, and never tires.

The frantic battle of guitar and sax continues for awhile until about 13 minutes in when it shifts and the sax disappears. The drum and guitar just start hammering in, fading out, and hammering back in. Then starts to dramatically pick back up in a very Crimsonian way. After that it starts to sound very playful and maybe a little Zappa-esque. It then gets a bit jazzier and starts shifting tempo multiple times. It's a very bright sounding piece with tones they use, if also quite chaotic. I have to comment that I love Sean McDermott's guitar tone.

About 19 minutes in trumpet comes, sounding a bit like King Crimson's Lizard, but with perhaps's experimental edge and constant rhythm keeping it sounding their own. As it continues it develops into more of a psychedelic krautrock sound that works fantastically with the addition of trumpet. It starts to progress into more of Hawkwind psychedelia as guitar becomes more and more prominent. It begins to calm down, which is short lived and it becomes louder and energy picks back up as the drums start crashing in louder and louder.

At about 27 minutes in it shifts moods again, becoming more playful, until after a minute it suddenly stops, doing something similar to what they did back at 13 minutes. The drums and guitar keep hammering on for another minute until it descends into a calmer post rock atmosphere. After a few minutes strings are added in as it starts to pick up. It reaches a powerful crescendo until suddenly dropping. It immediately picks back up even higher then it was before. The guitar goes into a solo over the strings and pounding drums that is just fantastic. The drums continue to pound louder and louder over the guitar and the strings until finally it is all brought down into the powerful conclusion of a masterpiece.

This album is truly amazing. I cannot recommend this enough to any fan of progressive music, and it is a fantastic introduction to the post/math rock genre if you've yet to explore it.

Master of Time | 5/5 |

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