Review Summary: Gee, what a surprise - another post rock album
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed the "post rock paradox". Basically, what this means is that, while post rock used to be the sound of the future and evolution of rock music, it has become a tired formula with an ever growing number of bands using it (sounds familiar?). It looks like people like the members of A Silver Mt. Zion, This Will Destroy You, Mono, God Is An Astronaut and on, and on, haven't noticed that every possible "evolution" in post rock had already been done by 1999: the jazzy and krautrock-y (Cul De Sac, Tortoise, Gastr Del Sol), the electronic (Stereolab, Aphex Twin), the heavy (Isis and the like), and specially, the emotional, epic, crescendo-dependant of Mogwai and GY!BE.
Why have I decided to make this critique in this particular album? Simply because it exemplifies better than any other what I (and many others) mean. All of a Sudden...contains every post rock cliché you can think of: the effect ladden guitars, plenty of repetition, inventive drumming, crescendos, the dreamy atmosphere, the sad/melancholic feel....you name it, it's here.
The music itself it's not bad at all. This is very important to notice: if you like post rock you WILL enjoy this because, again, it has every element that makes you like it. This is the reason why I gave it a 2.5; while I'm tired of listening bands copying Mogwai I still enjoy the style, and I can't help but smile when an epic crescendo ends in pure catharsis (around 9 minutes into
It's natural to be Afraid), or feel embraced by the usual trance-inducing atmospheres (
What do you go Home to?).
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The most remarkable performance here is probably drummer Chris Krasky's, who plays exactly what is needed and usually is the driving force of the songs. He will change from subtle cymbal work to frantic drumming often many times in each song (
The Birth and Death of the Day, Welcome Ghosts.
Apart from this, there was one track I truly liked, the closing piano driven
So Long, Lonesome. It shows a welcomed variation from the classic rock band instrumentation and hints at a possible evolution of EITS's sound in the future.
PROS:
- Good instrumentation, specially the drums
- Pretty well achieved atmosphere crafting
- Lots of emotion et al
CONS:
- A sound similar to that of many other bands, a constant feeling of déjÃ* vu
- Sometimes seems like all the emotion is fake
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