Review Summary: An album three years in the making is finally released, worth the wait.
It's hard to beat sacred-style soundscapes, backed by light, lo-fi drum licks, if you're looking for a hook, and although the vocals kick in a little too suddenly, "Evolutory" (TRACK 1, 3.5/5) is never less than engrossing, with thoughtfully introspective lyrics, in addition to enchanting, post-rock ambiences that, largely defined by Brian Wade's and Josh Clark's beautifully soulful crooning, stick around just long enough before being punctuated by triumphant hooks of greater energy and, if you will, intensity (There are a couple of catchy metal guitar kicks and licks), before really coming to life throughout a halfway mark that is carried by Andy Stark's killer drumming, and highlighted by passionate guitar leads. It's one heck of an emotionally-charged, stylistically dynamic and technically airtight hook, and if its follow-up, "Lifoliage" (TRACK 2, 3.5/5), is a step down, then that has less to do with heartfelt lyricism, vocals and songwriting, as well as excellent instrumentation that is highlighted by a dynamite guitar duet by Jake Bowen and Mark Holcomb of none other than Periphery, and more to do with the song's being a touch too much like its predecessor. Arguably too many tracks in this showcase follow a pattern of atmosphere-heavy rises from moderate ambience to uptempo charge, if not intensity of an alternative, or even metal nature, and such a formula really comes to a head pretty early on with the seven-and-a-half-minute-long "An Endless Voyage" (TRACK 3, 3.25/5), which features a number of the traits that made its predecessors of such high quality, - including sophisticated lyricism - in addition to an infectiously precise, Danny Carrey-style drum performance by Stark, but is more unappealingly dark to begin with, and goes on just long enough to culminate with some overt intensity within the vocals, accompanied by, of all things, some deathcore backing vocals. Really, I think that this obvious homage to, say, Tool suffers most from its being so blasted long, and so blasted uneventful (As good of guitarists as Clark and Justin Gosnell are, they couldn't have tossed in one guitar solo over the course of seven-and-a-half minutes?), having a much more pleasant formula than obscenely overrated bands like Tool, enough so to actually be pretty strong, but still wandering along an unnerving path at a rate that really wears you down, maybe on the formula. That's not good, because this album has many more tracks which succumb to a specific pattern left to go, whether it be the overly indie "A Source of Reflection" (TRACK 4, 3.25/5), the somewhat mopey "Wishes in Awakening" (TRACK 6, 3.25/5), and the very well-drummed and often piercing, but otherwise particularly formulaic "Until We See the Ocean" (TRACK 9, 3.25/5). Subtle touches go a long way in distinguishing these and other, arguably superior tracks with both blemishes and strengths, but this is all more-or-less the same, slowly paced progression, with the pieces just mentioned being among the more inconsequentially basic takes on a formula whose over-exploration is actually not that huge of a complaint, largely because this band's distinct style is so worthy by its own right, and partly because there a couple of particularly divergent pieces that are incorporated in just the right place to break the monotony.
Tonally heartwarming, lyrically sophisticated and beautifully sung, with catchy drumwork, "The Farewell Fixture" (TRACK 7, 3.25/5) does follow the basic pattern of Vestascension's primary formula, but is distinguished by its stripping down much of the atmospherics, to the detriment of the immersion value, sure, but mostly to a ponderous pacing which plagues some of the album's less inspired pieces, and whose reduction allows you to connect with the sheer emotion of the music a little more organically. Keep in mind that this piece strips down, not the emotion, but the post-rock glaze over this band's style, and that ability to smoothly control such a distinguished style ironically reflects how realized this formula has become, at least since "Our Midnight Canvas" (TRACK 8, 3.25/5), the band's 2011 breakout, which is not quite as cleanly mixed as the "new" tracks, and may be too ethereal for one's patience to stand especially firm, but the humble ambition of this very hauntingly beautiful ballad, while by no means technically remarkable, salvages so much of the raw spirit of Vestascension that it captivates, as a worthy introduction to a worthy style. These are all quality musicians with sharps minds for lyricism and composition, but when you cut through all of the technical polish, it's refreshing to find an emotional connection this nuanced, and that's why when the tone of this style is really brought to the forefront, "L'Arrivee" (TRACK 5, 3.75/5) really stands out, with an industrial ambience whose digital drumbeat is a little awkward, but catchy, and drowned out just enough by Gosnell's ethereal synthesizer atmosphere, faux string section and subtle piano crashes, and by Wade's and Clark's pure and often devastatingly passionate croon of a vivid, philosophically and dramatically-charged lyric. So much less about rising action and more about getting to the heart of post-rock and the band's intelligent songwriting, "L'Arrivee" is pure, unbridled genius, with a subtle magic that something like the penultimate track, "Of One's Passing" (TRACK 11, 3.5/5), tries to recapture, with solid success, even if it does get a little lost in its sentimentality and particularly potent dreaminess, complimented by a guest bass performance by Jeordie "Twiggy Ramirez" White of Marilyn Manson and Goon Moon. This, to someone (I'm not a big industrial rock/metal fan), esteemed appearance follows excellent guest guitarwork by John Wesley on "Burn Your Garden Down" (TRACK 10, 3.75/5), which initially has no pretense about being more of the same, jumping right to the point with a moderate intensity, but suddenly taking a big turn just after the two-minute mark, at which point, a series of almost mind-blowing guitar leads kick in, their tension finally broken by a collapse into an entrancing slow spell that, with the guidance of Wade's ever-expanding chest vocals, builds in intensity, until settling on a soaring tone whose triumphant nature is truly brought to life by Wade's overwhelmingly powerful, unaccompanied belting, before tension breaks one last time, finding Clark all but whispering us out. Again, the epic starts out being a bit of a more realized version of more of the same, and ends up becoming as sweeping and powerful as anything in this showcase, thus, "Burn Your Garden Down" is more than big enough to be the closer, making it a little harder to get into "Of One's Passing" and the album's actual closer, "The Heart Machine" (TRACK 12, 3.5/5), an excellent track that neatly alternates between perk and intensity, both at their most realized, but doesn't have too much to distinguish it from the bunch.
"The Heart Machine" goes out in something of a refreshing way, breaking down the pace and pitch of the instrumentation, then driving the intensity way back up, until it is jarringly broken by a warm dream pop finale that makes for a decent way to close out this album, but is not the definitive way, not after something like "Burn Your Garden Down", a bona fide epic that, as good as anything in this showcase, encompasses all of the intelligence, intensity, technical proficiency, heart, ambience and sweep explored, to subtly varying degrees, throughout this showcase. Beyond that, I don't have too much of a problem with the arrangement of the album (Considering the importance of "Our Midnight Canvas", maybe it should have had a more distinct place than track 8 of 12), because just when things get to be a little monotonous, particularly distinct pieces break the formula, but just barely, actually. This outfit is a somewhat quintessential reflection of recent movements to bring post-rock deeper into its prog roots, accompanied by a bit of an alternative edge, but the style is still plenty fresh, even though this particular band practically aims to run it into the ground, having most tracks in this showcase almost aimlessly run together with a style that is a little draggy to begin with. This would be a pretty outstanding album if it was tighter, and more dynamic, because no matter how exhausted the formula may be, it's very worthy, with meticulous and sentimental songwriting sensibilities that could have gotten contrived, yet are generally effective in their subtle entertainment and immersion value, and prominent emotional value, while intellectual, dramatic lyrical sensibilities could have gotten overwrought, only to feel true, pure and convincing. "An Endless Voyage" is rather overblown, while "A Source of Reflection", "Wishes in Awakenings" and "Until We See the Ocean" feel a little under-inspired, but just about everything else carries a very sound ambition, justified by quality instrumentation from the gifted Josh Clark on guitar, the architecturally precise Justin Gosnell on guitar, keys and production, and the great Andy Stark on drums, as well as by the warm voices, enchanting melodic control and penetrating emotional connection of Clark and the particularly impassioned Brian Wade on vocals. "Evolutory" and "Lifoliage" are grand hooks, just as "The Heart Machine", while not as big as it should be, is a fairly grand finale, and in between it all is the heartwarmingly humble "The Farewell Fixture", "Our Midnight Canvas" and "Of One's Passing", while brilliant standouts "L'Arrivee", with its overwhelming beauty, and "Burn Your Garden Down", with its equally overwhelming scope, particularly define Vestascension as a revelatory new act whose long wait for a breakout pays off with the strong "Breaching the Sound".
3.25/5
