Review Summary: An EP which shows the development of Kwoon into a Post-Rock phenomenon.
The most recent offering from Kwoon is a clear step forward and upwards for the small French band.
The Guillotine Show brings Kwoon's best aspects of their earlier work together under one extraordinary umbrella. The first album named song starts abruptly, slamming the listener in the face with an avalanche of guitar, drums and vocals in an already large crescendo of noise. The waves of quiet and wispy vocals of the lead singer interject between large breakers of noise, creating an enjoyable and moving sound. A similar approach is taken with the excellent Emily was the Queen in the middle of the album.
The EP rewinds slightly into a more Kwoon-like sound with Bird and Wark, with quiet yet attention seeking instrumentals starting the songs which build slowly towards the very top of the post-rock mountain, that so often used change in volume and pace. In Bird, Kwoon have another excellent song, bringing the listener further and further in to the minds of the musicians until they are shook awake by the short, sharp drums which lead to a period of music which feels almost cathartic, making the listener yearn for more without it being detrimental to the song.
However it is with Last Trip of a Drunken Man which truly shows that this is a band moving forward. LTDM is completely different to anything heard on a Kwoon record before, in what can only be described as a departure away from the stereotypes of Post Rock, the acoustic guitar and eloquent and emotive vocals of LTDM bring a totally new dimension to their music. LTDM shows the abilities of the musicians within Kwoon, opening up more of the Post Rock genre to newer listeners, making it far more accessible than other bands.
The Guillotine Show demonstrates the new found development of Kwoon, a step forward within themselves towards making better and more well rounded music. In a genre that is experiencing quite a bit of stagnation, Kwoon are just the band to shock Post-Rock back into life if the Guillotine Show is anything to go by.
