Review Summary: Nothing more than a pleasant listening experience.
All Is Wild, All Is Silent evokes a perplexing feeling while listening to it. One can't help but be mesmerized by its beauty and appreciate the uplifting atmosphere it conveys. However, the strangeness comes from simply wanting more when delving into its slightly mediocre nature of lacking character and variety. Though this record possesses some extremely memorable sections, one can not escape the feeling of hearing the same exact structure over and over again in each piece of music. Rest assured,
All Is Wild, All Is Silent best inhabits the easy listening music aesthetic and it really gives the listener a sense of peace, but it lacks the complexity of some of its fellow post rock colleagues. However, the album is perfect reading music so look no further in that department.
As for the sound of the album, nothing too outside of the box is presented here. Just imagine layers of strings, acoustic guitars, and piano that evoke an inspiring atmosphere. Alas, the ideas presented on this album never take off completely. There are moments that really do impress, but unfortunately those moments are not very abundant. Most of these great ideas are crammed into the darker sections of the album. For example, "Remembrance" showcases the best build on the album and it makes for amazing use of the banjo in the beginning. It sets the stage for the bass, strings, and vocalizing that come in shortly after. It's a beautifully melancholy piece and the best track on the album. In fact, there is not a moment on the album where the banjo is misused. "Night In The Draw" is driven by the banjo and its second half thrills with some great strings and good drumming. "Harm And Boon" is a sorrowful piano driven track all too short and it could have had a fantastic crescendo, but all it does is give us a taste of would could have been. It never really builds on the traditional post rock crescendo and it serves as a typical interlude rather than a song. These ideas leave the listener begging for more because of the staggering amount of talent presented and the potential for a masterpiece is strongly evident. Unfortunately, most of it sounds the same throughout and lacks variety. Aside from "Remembrance," there are not many aspects of the songs that distinguish them from the next. However, should anyone avoid this album because of all this? Absolutely not.
Balmorhea have crafted quite an solid album. It lacks the character, original sound, and variety that singles out Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros in the post rock genre. Yet, just because of this that does not mean anyone should avoid this. It is nothing more than a pleasant listening experience. There are beautiful emotions to be felt while listening to its simple soundscapes of strings, banjo, acoustic guitar, piano, and accessible builds. There's a reason why there are bands like this. Anyone getting into the genre of post rock or has never heard any will likely have a hard time listening to bands like Sigur Ros, but then we have Balmorhea.
All Is Wild, All Is Silent is a perfect starting point for getting into post rock and for this reason, these type of bands should be appreciated.
