Review Summary: If it's a dream you wish to live/Then go back to sleep/And chase it to the wake.
Sometimes, whether we like it or not, the ways in which music is written and released can shape our opinions on it just as much as the quality of the music itself. And while this can sometimes be a negative taint on the sacrosanct act of music listening, by the same token it can lead us to great things. To arrive at the point, Vestascension began life as a group of friends with a few instruments and a cool idea – to avoid the perils and pitfalls of the music industry entirely and release their music for free, one song per month throughout 2011, with the aim of amassing an album's worth of songs after a year had passed. Admittedly, it was this unique method of delivering goodies that piqued interest in Vestascension more than the quality of the music itself (or at least, that's my somewhat regretful admission). Where people really began to sit up and take notice was five months into the campaign when the five-piece finally came into their potential, ditching the somewhat awkward post rock-inspired facet of their music and diving headfirst into the softer side of the spectrum, coming to the surface with an arsenal of gorgeous dreamy songs at their disposal. While the departure of one of the original vocalists eight months on halted progress for a bit, Vestascension resurfaced in 2014 with a new singer, a new lease on life and an original, fantastic idea to keep their career afloat.
In essence,
Breaching the Sound is a re-recording of the nine tracks already released by Vestascension in their one-song-per-month campaign with the original singer – now referred to as the demos – with the addition of three new ones fresh from the cutting room. While instrumentally the songs are largely unchanged - bar "A Sound of Reflection" which has become a different, and superior beast to its original form - new vocalist Brian Wade's vocal tracks make an enormous difference in tandem with the familiar vocals of old vocalist Josh Clark. The already impressive vocal tracks of both singers are combined into what is effectively an album-long attack of dazzling dual vocals. Some songs are wisely given largely over to one or other of the singers based on their individual merits – with Clark's deeper voice dominating on "Lifoliage" while Wade's falsetto takes centre stage on the Dot Hacker-esque "Of One's Passing" - but these are the exceptions which prove the rule. As the vocalists' opposite but perfectly contrasted pitches weave effortlessly around each other on "Wishes in Awakenings" and "The Farewell Fixture", it's difficult to believe the songs could ever have existed any other way.
While sticking largely to an ambient-influenced sound that the band aptly describe as 'dream rock', Vestascension are more than willing to drop a surprise ingredient into the blender here and there. Any listeners of the original tracks from 2011 will be familiar with the blink-and-you-miss-it tempo change which takes the slow burner "An Endless Voyage" and hammers it into a machine of war, complete with a lion's share of riffage and demonic harsh vocals. Closer "The Heart Machine" features what I'll refer to as a musical red herring – a steadily downtuning drop into silence followed by a build-up of distortion and a rising scream that seems poised on the brink of unleashing all hell, only to segue straight into an unimposing soft vocal section by Wade instead. Apart from these isolated moments, however, Vestascension wisely keep their heavier side well in check, as opener "Evolutory" demonstrates that this was never their forte. Just as it did in 2011 when first released, "L'Arrivée" marks an arrival (heh) at the best part of the album, and the turning point into the dream rock style. This spectacular tune requires nothing more than the simplest drumbeat and a basic piano melody to craft some of the most gorgeous soundscapes on the album, and even showcases what would appear to be a chorus dedicated to putting into words what the band strive to do with their music: "If it's a dream you wish to live/Then go back to sleep/And chase it to the wake."
While the lyrics are occasionally eyebrow-raising and over-complex in a way that post rock lyrics can often be, there are nevertheless lines rich enough in imagery and dewy-eyed optimism to justify the odd serving of cheese. For example, it's hard to imagine song-of-the-year contender "Our Midnight Canvas" being quite the emotional journey that it is without its evocative, majestic chorus, and highest point of the album as a whole:
"This is where we can be broken down to/Our colours/The shades that make us who we are/And who we, we will be/What if I saw/Through the sky?/And found your heart/Where the world could hear mine?"
The following track "Until We See the Ocean" continues the tradition, mixing one of the album's most endearing melodies with an insightful reflection on life, time, and other such subjects that readily lend themselves to deep and introspective lyricism. This song features one of the more obviously post-rock inspired structures on the album, building slowly to a climax before settling down to a soft guitar ending, and yet Vestascension cleverly avoid the clichés of the genre by keeping the focus of the song on the killer melody and the enviable performances of both Clark and Wade. I guarantee the one-two punch of "Canvas" and "Ocean" to be some of the best ten minutes of music you hear this year, or your money back.
As mentioned earlier, the album truly hits its stride with "L'Arrivée" and doesn't let up from there on out, taking the beautiful atmosphere and running with it through layers upon layers of guitars, drums, keys and bass all working perfectly in tandem and in unison towards one single purpose: creating a canvas (you might even say... a midnight canvas) upon which the vocal interplay, always the vocal interplay throughout every moment, can dance. Hiring Brian Wade to provide essentially the yin to Clark's yang may quite possibly turn out to be the decision which defines the rest of Vestascension's career; as the contrast between Clark's gritty, profound voice and Wade's terrific falsetto is
Breaching the Sound's trump card and it is not afraid to use it time and again. It's a strong enough basis to launch an impressive career, and
Breaching the Sound is a debut that is not to be missed.
Oh and hey, did I mention that it's free?
