Review Summary: Uninspired post-rock that doesn’t add anything new to the genre.
The Sentinel, as promising as it may be, is a post-rock record that unfortunately doesn’t achieve anything. It’s without a doubt an enjoyable listen; the track lengths are not overly imposing, and, like any good post-rock album, is chock full of rises and falls. But what makes this album insufficient when compared to an album like
F# A# ∞, is that it lacks flavour, it lacks personality, and most importantly lacks that attention catching essence such an album requires. Zoning out when listening to
The Sentinel is not because of its nature, but because it is genuinely boring and, as a whole, just seems forced and tiresome. When I first listened to the album, I had a number of expectations in my head, mostly concerning how the album would sound. Unfortunately for me, and for Aerial, each of my expectations proved true. Rather than demolish expectation like any emotive album should, it turned out to be exactly what I was expecting. There is nothing inherently ‘bad’ about this album. I’m sure post-rock junkies will devour it without a second thought, but in the grand scheme of things, this is just another album that nobody will remember in years to come.
Every convention associated with post-rock can be found on
The Sentinel. The music is crystal clear; every note and beat can be heard with a perfect disposition to every other note and beat. The crash of cymbals and the tremolo picked guitar lines make up the choruses much in the same way as the meandering melodies and subdued drumming make up the build-ups. To top if off, certain instances show how Aerial have
tried to be different, yet barely made a scratch on their picture perfect album. The ending of 'Walk With Me', a track specifically designed to meet every post-rock cliché in the book, is a harsh and dissonant implosion of sound, somewhat like a Nirvana type trying to play post-rock. Nonetheless, even when an attempt is made at musical discord, one can’t help but notice how forced it sounds, basically as if the band were actually trying to make perfect disharmony.
What makes all of this unbearable is that
The Sentinel is largely a single track, played 9 times. The ‘post-rock formula’ is very much in play here, followed almost exactly for each song, leaving the listener feeling like he’s just listened to different versions of the same song. Similar melodies and similar structures, the band seems to have forgotten that a bit of variation, even just a smidgeon, goes a long way. It must be admitted that there is only so much you can vary when it comes to post-rock, but points can be given for trying; Aerial get no points. As with the music, the lyrics and even track titles just scream post-rock mediocrity. ‘My God, It’s Full of Stars’ is the perfect example; its pretentiousness is just as apparent in its lyrics and title as it is in its music.
One good thing that can be said about the album is that their use of vocals is rather good. Perhaps it’s largely because most post-rock I’ve listened to has been instrumental, but the infrequent passages of singing on
The Sentinel work quite well, giving the album a hint of personality, as opposed to the lifelessness of some of its tracks. The track ‘You Will All Die, All Things Will’, which is a reasonably enjoyable song, uses the solemn vocals in its favour. Somewhat reminiscent of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, they’re probably the best thing about the album, if only due to a lack of candidates.
Ultimately,
The Sentinel just doesn’t compare to other post-rock albums. In a genre where making a masterpiece in every sense of the word is very possible, it’s only natural that every band is going to try their best to make a masterpiece, whether they actually can or not. Aerial have done all the wrong things however, largely imitating all of their influences, leaving us with a bland and insipid 40 minutes of music. The limited emotive faculties of
The Sentinel hinder any real attachment one can have with the album, so what is there left of this record? Nothing, really.
i might look into this anyway, i'm having some serious postrock cravings currently.
