Review Summary: An impressive combination of creative instrumentation and heartfelt songwriting.
Iamthemorning spent last fall touring Europe with the Norwegian post-progressive art rock act Gazpacho, and it seemed that the band's concept oriented music left an impression. Lighthouse was advertised as far more conceptual than the band’s previous efforts, and was described as the “story of the progression of mental illness,” supposedly intended to “[take] the listener through the stages with the story’s central character, her attempts to fight it, temporal remission leading to a final breakdown.” Compared to the band’s previous two releases, ~ and Belighted, it was certainly a huge shift in terms of ambition. In many cases, ambition can lead artists to put concept over music, but Lighthouse successfully finds balance between the two.
Similar to their debut album, ~, Lighthouse opens with the sound of waves. “I Came Before the Water Pt I,” is a brief opener that effectively sets the stage for the rest of the album with its dark lyrics and cinematic atmosphere. The track also demonstrates that Marjana Semkina’s vocals are as breathtaking as ever, and Lighthouse features several of her most impressive performances. The second song on the album, “Too Many Years,” proves that the second half of the duo isn’t slacking either; Gleb Kolyadin opens the track with a aggressive piano melody that drives the majority of the song, with a blaring bombard solo appearing towards the end to close the track. Guest musicians Gavin Harrison and Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) also make early impressions, with Harrison’s intricate drumming assisting the more driving sound of “Too Many Years,” and Edwin delivering a bass intro to “Clear Clearer” that will likely remind many Porcupine Tree fans of songs such as “Hatesong” and “Strip the Soul.” The next two tracks are equally strong, with the ethereal “Sleeping Pills” showcasing the band's more peaceful, dreamy side and “Libretto Horror” showcasing a more fun, eccentric version of the band.
Guest vocalist Mariusz Duda (Riverside) makes his appearance on the gorgeous title track, which begins with interplay between Kolyadin’s melancholic piano playing and Semkina’s haunting vocals. The song eventually builds to a dramatic climax, with Duda and Semkina working together to deliver a powerful, heartfelt vocal performance. After an excellent instrumental, fittingly titled “Harmony,” the album quickly goes from dark to darker. “Matches,” which reminds me a bit of the track “5/4” from Belighted, clearly demonstrates that the album’s main character is losing her mind. “Belighted” is another slow-building ethereal track, but is less dreamy and more dark than “Sleeping Pills” (“My journey begins with dissolving in the air… but I don’t even care”). This builds perfectly into the darkest track of the album, “Chalk and Coal.” The most disconcerting aspect of “Chalk and Coal” isn’t it’s lyrics (which isn’t to say they aren’t dark; they certainly are), but rather the instrumentation and production. Throughout the entire track, Semkina can be heard muttering the vocals behind the singing, and this, combined with the less melodic instrumentation, gives the strong impression that her character’s situation is truly hopeless. In the cinematic conclusion, “I Came Before the Water Pt II,” Marjana’s character gives up, repeating the final verse of the introductory track, “And so, walking into water, I accept my final defeat.” This is followed by an ending credits-style instrumental track called “Post Scriptum,” which again demonstrates the talent of all participating musicians.
What separates Lighthouse most from iamthemorning’s previous works is its conceptual unity. The band chose to forgo the intermissions they used on all their previous releases to strengthen the cohesiveness of the album, instead using a five minute long instrumental to break up the two halves of the album. There simply aren’t weak tracks; I didn’t intend to discuss every single song on the album, but it felt wrong to mention some tracks and not others. Iamthemorning demonstrate complete control over their music, combining unique and memorable songwriting with incredible instrumentation and intelligent use of dynamics. More impressively, they are able to deliver a concept album that is both inventive and genuine in a way that few bands are able to achieve. Lighthouse is an impressive accomplishment from a band that continues to impress.
