Review Summary: Stripped down math rock with Post-rock influence.
Post Rock can be really boring, especially for new listeners. In my experience, some bands, like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion, seem to be easier to get in to than most. Despite the incredibly long song times and long passages of unmelodic noise and ambience, they still
manage to be engaging to those unfamiliar with the genre. The climactic passages that these bands build up to are reward enough for sitting through the first 7 or 8 minutes of the song, and with more listens those same building passages become magical and full of life. Post Rock is one the most difficult genres to get into, as it tends to alienate those whose main interests are genres with different goals, like Speed Metal and Power Metal.
Collections of Colonies of Bees are actually really easy to get into, mainly because they don’t build towards climaxes. Instead, they create passages that smoothly and easily flow into the next. While they don’t have the amazing climaxes and crescendos of the aforementioned bands, they make up for it by being consistently engaging, albeit calming. Of course there are plenty of mini crescendos and ambient bridge sections, but they are shorter and contain plenty of movement to keep the listener interested.
Flocks I is a great song. It quickly gets into a comfortable groove and changes from there. The song sounds like Battles turned post-rock, just without the alien singing. In fact, there is no singing on the album, which is fairly common in post-rock. The guitars spend a lot of time in the middle and upper registers playing intricate support patterns and funky melodies. Flocks II beings with a slow build until the drums come in; then, the song turns into another section similar to the stuff in Flocks I, and finally breaks down at the end with a decrescendo of ambient noises and fantastic metal clanking sounds (pots and pans maybe?).
Flocks III isn’t much of a derivative from what the first two Flocks were, but the middle section dies and the ending is fantastic, ending with a chorus “ahhh” and a fading guitar. The next song begins with haunting piano, followed by a great guitar rhythmic section. Flocks IV is very peaceful, especially the first few minutes of it. A very strange rhythmic comes in with a few minutes left and drives the song to its apparent climax. The song fades out over brilliant guitar riffs (even some electric guitar!) and soothing synths, but ends rather abruptly.
The guitar parts in this are fantastic. While never extremely difficult, they provide a fantastic atmosphere, often acting like wind chimes in their sound and play patterns. Out of all the instruments on this album, the guitars definitely stand out the most. The instruments on this album, especially the guitars, are very mathy. Though the time signatures are not overly confusing (mostly ¾ and 4/4, with some minor tweaks), the parts themselves are arrhythmic and complex. The band doesn’t really have a bass (they call one of their members a “baritone guitarist”), but the low, pounding bass lines are sometimes there, though not often noticeable unless listened for. The piano is haunting and well played, though I wish they would have used it much more. The synths/ambient lines are nice and pretty, though can be boring and bland at spots, especially when tucked behind the guitar parts which they very often are. The drums on this album are simple, elegant, and a perfect fit. The drums are what make most of the mini climaxes of the album work. I do have to say that, at times, they overuse the pounding quarter notes. They aren’t used that often, but when they are they sound lazy and lackadaisical.
The album isn’t without its flaws. Some of the middle sections of the songs can get repetitive, some of the ambient sections are lacking, and after a few songs some of the guitar patterns can feel stale and recycled. Running, wind chime-esque eight notes are used fairly often, mainly towards the very beginning of the album and, while pretty, can get annoying, especially after repeated listens. That being said, this is an extremely solid effort from an unknown band who deserves more attention than they get. The album does lose a bit of its appeal after multiple listens, but it’s a fine album with great musicianship and emotion abound.
