Review Summary: It’s by no means perfect, but with Bliss & Death, National Skyline show their most realized, most refined effort to date, and the rewards vastly outweigh and outshine the drawbacks.
A little history first, seeing as this group has little to no Sput following yet: National Skyline was initially formed in 1996 by Hum’s Jeff Dimpsey, who recruited indie rock names from across Illinois to perform a 45-minute long song he had written. Although the song got recorded, it was never released, and the group went through multiple lineup shifts, eventually releasing a series of EPs and one LP entitled This = Everything in 2001, disappearing shortly after. Little was heard about National Skyline until Jeff Garber of Castor restarted the project in 2006, and in 2009, Bliss & Death, the project’s first full-length in nearly eight years, was released.
During that hiatus, National Skyline’s approach to music didn’t necessarily change, though Bliss & Death is far more refined and a little more atmospheric than its earlier counterparts. The album brings the group’s shoegaze elements to the forefront, and unlike their earlier efforts which experimented more with indie pop and dream pop, Bliss & Death retains a very firm grip on its alternative rock/shoegaze combination. The production is crystal clear, opting for a very finely layered and even mix instead of lo-fi distortion. It feels cold, but lively and natural, like going for a jog in the January briskness to clear your head.
Where Bliss & Death falters, and arguably where National Skyline has always faltered, is the lyrical department. Some of Garber’s lines on tracks like “Driving Down” and “Edge of the World” are trite and lack inspiration, in stark contrast to the music backing it. They sound like minimal effort was put into them, perhaps scrawled on a piece of paper once and untouched and unrevised until recording. Even despite them, Garber’s vocal delivery throughout isn’t too shabby. The lack of over-expression works in his favor; if he were trying to passionately display himself with most of these lines, they just wouldn’t have the right impact. While his delivery isn’t completely sardonic or apathetic by any means, there is obvious restraint in his voice and the presented melodies. This blends best with tracks like “Revenge” and “Glimmer”, which have terse lyrics to begin with, the former featuring one of the album’s heaviest hitting lines with a believable and fitting excuse of “You and I were born to be alone.” Thankfully, only just over half of Bliss & Death’s 10 tracks feature lyrics, and of them, two of the album’s standout tracks, “Bloom” and “Kingdom”, have perfectly fine lyrical presentations.
However, the real reason “Bloom”, “Kingdom”, and so much of Bliss & Death works is the expert construction and presentation of its music. Interspersed between the bulk of the songs here are either large extended instrumental sections or interludes, designed to take you away and allow you to drift through the sound. “Edge of the World” features one such example; even though it does a fairly poor job of being the album’s proper opening song, the last two minutes trail off into an entirely different melody that feels jubilant and powerful. Similar things can be said of “Bloom”, whose full version here (unlike its abridged single edit) features a downright beautiful soundscape of a jam over a steady drum rhythm, akin to Duster’s “Stratosphere”, but without the fuzz. The interludes like the album’s self-titled introductory track and “Golden Daggers” are pleasant, even if a little forgettable. “Solid Cold” is the highlight among the interludes, a desolate yet calm track, drowning in soothing electronics, and sounding like what Cloudkicker could’ve done with Loop if he’d had a bit more drive to make it a proper release.
The album’s undeniable highlight, and rightfully so, is the closing one-two punch of “Kingdom” and “I’m A Ghost II”. “Kingdom” spreads its icy charm over nearly 7-minutes, though unlike the similarly-lengthed “Bloom”, is constructed as a comfortably slow piece that twice bursts into a loud and re-empowering chorus, also featuring Garber’s best and most emotional vocal moment on all of Bliss & Death. The second time, after a mid-song break of acoustics and horn-like chords, the chorus muscles its way through to yet another section, letting loose all the potential energy that had built up not just since the start of the song, but through all of Bliss & Death as a whole. With a victorious swagger, Garber delivers the album’s final lyrics "I sip from the cup, and I will become…”, leaving the outcome open, though “I’m a Ghost II”, the album’s instrumental closing track immediately follows with the same air of success and attainment, hinting towards the answer. Racing upwards to the sky in post-rock fashion that nevertheless remains very National Skyline-like, by the time it reaches its pinnacle, the view, reflected in sound, is marvelous. You feel like you’ve been traversing through valleys and crevices of dangerous subzero for days on end, alone, reflective, but have finally, yes, finally reached the peak of a sonic mountain, with the vibrant rays of the sun rising up over the horizon, showering everything into a fresh lushness and peace.
And so it ends. It’s by no means perfect, but with Bliss & Death, National Skyline show their most realized, most refined effort to date, and the rewards vastly outweigh and outshine the drawbacks. If you’re up for the climb and have time to enjoy both the mesmerizing frigid journey and the blissful glory of the destination, give it a go.
