ADAM AND EVE

Adam and Eve is this English instrumental post-rock's best release to date. The sound and production quality have not improved at all - in fact, at times, it seems as if it has worsened (though not by much). The silly electronic drums are still present, the fake emotional passionate delivery is as daunting as ever, and the impeding distorted guitars still annoy me. The piano lines are improved, though, and still as high and emotional as ever. The homemade feel has not left the production, but there's one thing different about this album than the previous two. Some of the deceitful, misleading emotion that has always felt strained in the past has a more sincere feel at times here, which makes the experience listenable. Hopefully this is the start of something: hopefully Loss of a Child have begun to truly find their feet. Though there's still a lacking of a lot of experimenting, originality, uniqueness, et cetera, I think this underground group is beginning to improve.

Loss of a Child for me is neither a Post-Rock band nor what one would normally consider a Prog-Rock band, yet they do push boundaries and play instrumental music. Adam and Eve certainly isn't a simple or easy listen first off, it revels in noise and layers which take many listens before you distinguish the beauty lying underneath. The melodies of the many instruments blend together, the music constantly moves forward ignoring simple repetition which plague most post- and prog-rock bands and can often dissuade listeners who want a simple, instant musical experience to play in the background whilst performing some other activity. Put Adam and Eve on loudly and concentrate on the music, headphones if you want the clarity of every instrument. Listen to one guitarist play in 3/4 time whilst another plays in 5/4 and the pianist and drummer play in 4/4, allowing the instruments to create off-beat melodic passages which continually move - time changes rarely seen outside the mathcore scene and even those bands rarely layer instruments in different time signatures.

Adam and Eve is a completely original release if giving time and, along with the latest releases from 65daysofstatic, Russian Circles and Dillinger Escape Plan, shows that music is moving forward and showing that there can be depth and emotion within music. This is one of my favourite releases and has rarely left my stereo since I was recommended it. And I'm still discovering new segments every time. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because I think Loss of a Child will produce even better in the future.

All right, I can already anticipate getting some flack for this five star review. But hear me out. Loss of a Child is, without a doubt, one of the most talented acts in terms of songwriting I've ever been graced to hear. The combination of orchestral composition and post-rock melodies, strings juxtaposed with rock instrumentation, is absolutely stunning and brilliant. All of Loss of a Child's albums are worth listening to, but the album that really struck me the most was Adam and Eve. The only way I can describe this album is "sublime." This piece (really, this album is just one forty minute song) above all others by Loss of a Child is perfectly written and performed. It leaves me wanting to weep at the end. This album is sheer musical perfection from my point of view, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Additionally, all Loss of a Child albums are free, which strikes me as one of the greatest musical gifts I've ever received.

'Adam & Eve' - Loss Of A Child (5/10)

While always showing flashes of brilliance in their work, Loss Of A Child has never been a band that's really astounded me with their music. I have always found them to be too uniform in their style, and fail to have a sense of real dynamic in their music. While there's definately intelligence in some of the complex guitar layers they write, the band seems to be trying too hard at giving an 'epic' sound to their music; failing to go anywhere really profound. With 'Adam & Eve,' the band still suffers from a lack of variety and depth to their music, but it is the best executed piece of music the band has done up until the point of this album's follow-up, 'Carry Me Home.'

The two albums before this one had witnessed a gradual development in the band's sound. 'The Future Symphony,' while having the most variety and emotional appeal, had horrible production and an execution that left a little to be desired. 'Caught & Lost' solidified their style, but was far worse in terms of quality. With this album, the production still hasn't improved much, but it feels like the band is able to express themselves much better with this. The ride is still very bumpy in parts (some of the track transitions are very jagged and ill-fitting) but things feel alot more professional here. With alot of the previous work, things were mixed too heavily on the piano work; whereas here it is much more of a guitar-based journey.

There is far too little melody here, which might be the biggest flaw with Loss Of A Child's style. There is always alot of different things going on, but they seem to be pulling out the same tricks each time; very rarely throwing something new into the mix. With that in mind, Loss Of A Child is a group to check out if you are a sincere fan of post-rock music, but then again, there is plenty of better music in the genre to listen to. 'Adam & Eve' may be a wall of dense sound throughout, but it is a well-composed wall of dense sound.