Review Summary: equilibrium
i'm not sure what it means for a collection of sound to be timeless, but i feel like balance and composure's music is just that. on the one hand, it feels like a lifetime has passed since the band's last full length, 2016's deeply misunderstood
light we made. on the other hand, there's a familiarity to the new
with you in spirit - like it's been there all along, like it's been floating around waiting to be captured.
thankfully, the album floats in spite of its newfound captivity. throughout ten tracks, balance and composure strike a, lol, balance between the ethereal and the unambiguous. as always, john simmons’ unique voice grounds each word amidst shimmering melodies, without wasting a single note. crucially,
with you in spirit feels focused and entirely in sync with itself: it understands this balance in the concrete sense where the music finds it excellence in sweeping moments and intricate intimacy alike. the opening duo blends
light we made’s electronic experimentation with the urgency that specific record didn’t set out to embody, consequently constructing the clear-yet-oppressive atmosphere of the record. “ain’t it sweet” features one of band’s most entrancing choruses in over a decade, aided in intensity by its gorgeously sparse verses. thankfully, the subsequent songs all put forth excellent moments too, from “cross to bear"s meandering gloom to “believe the hype” trading the implicitly intriguing for the clear-cut catchy.
however,
with you in spirit’s most devastating moments are rather understated. following “believe the hype"s delightfully demanding chorus, “lead foot” transforms itself from moody and quiet to moody and loud, climaxing with a wonderfully ghostly “
you don't belong to the dead… yet” before bleeding into the foreground. it's the kind of thing you might miss during a casual listen, but eventually jumps out and refuses to let go. similarly, closing cut “with you in spirit” provides a perfect canvas to send off simmons’ hauntingly plain lyrics. it sways between different shades of midtempo, colours its borders with bright riffs and ultimately allows simple statements such as “
i’m terrified / i'm mortified” to pack a shocking punch.
even with all of these excellent moments, it's hard to ignore the forest: the album is excellently paced, allowing its rather oppressive atmosphere to bask in the glow of sheer digestibility.
with you in spirit feels complete: not just as an album, but as an iteration of the band. it's everything the band was, is, and is morphing into. dark and light, subtle and destructive, balance and composure.
