Caspian
Dust and Disquiet


5.0
classic

Review

by Nick Mongiardo USER (137 Reviews)
September 19th, 2017 | 155 replies


Release Date: 2015 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Wide awake, indeed.

It becomes easier to underestimate a genre every day as the unstoppable stream of time rages on. As new approaches to music such as “djent” and “blackgaze” keep emerging, well established genres like progressive music, and in this case post rock, often lose their grip. People have begun to toss their faith in said genres out the window and describe them as “dead” or "stagnant." Then, a band like Caspian comes along with Dust And Disquiet. Within the realm of post rock, Caspian managed to inject a much needed amount of confidence, passion and ambition back into their field. What we’re left with is an absolutely massive chapter in post rock’s history that’ll send chills down your spine with its unpredictability and sense of grandeur.

Caspian excels at their style here, with their production managing to make Dust And Disquiet sound larger than life. The drums, for example, sound crisp, natural and vast under the various frays of crescendos. They know how to make guitars sound lifelike, beautiful, lush and aggressively raw, often all in the same song strangely enough. It's a satisfying feeling to hear that all blend together perfectly. Take “Arcs Of Command” for example. Introductory keyboards pave the way for echoing drums and Rosetta sounding guitar distortion. Underneath it all, the bass gives it all a grounded, vibrant feel. “Arcs Of Command” remains truly epic throughout its spacey vibe and leaves the listener begging for the rest of the album, which is rich in diversity.

While we have the traditionally post metal sounding tracks like “Arcs of Command” and “Echo and Abyss,” there exists the traditional post rock tracks like “Rioseco” and “Sad Heart of Mine.” Throw in the almost tribal drums in “Darkfield” and the straight up folky and haunting atmosphere of “Run Dry” and Dust and Disquiet remains unpredictable throughout its appropriately hour long running time. “Rioseco” utilizes captivating synthesizers exceptionally well. Combine this with mature song writing skills and massively engrossing guitar tones, this song starts things off on a high note. “Echo and Abyss” is no exception with it undoubtedly proving more intense and a worthy follow up to “Arcs of Command.”

The ironically titled “Sad Heart of Mine” will warm the listener's soul with heartfelt melodies and a gripping buildup strongly influenced by Explosions In The Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. However, listening to this song and “Run Dry” back to back would certainly yield a perplexing experience. It comes out of nowhere, with traditional wistful lyrics and a heartbreaking atmosphere engulfing the senses. It’s a bold yet mature choice to include a song like this on their latest record because it’s something they’ve never truly tackled before, and they did it like they've done it one thousand times before. Listening to these songs back to back truly shows how far the band has come in just a mere four albums.

What this record is all leading up to is its payoff: the title track. It’s one of the best written compositions of post rock of this decade, and perhaps even of this century. With its confidently cinematic guitar riffs and sorrowful piano melodies, the song recalls the gripping climax of a battle, especially once it slows down from its violent storm of tremolo picking and distortion. The second half gradually swells to epic proportions as the tremolo picking and repetitious guitar crescendos rage on. It’s one of the most thought provoking and powerful post rock pieces ever written.

All in all, this record came as a complete surprise a couple years ago. No one expected Caspian to release something that could end up with the greats, and they accomplished just that with incredible ease. They exhibited immense amounts of talent before this, but with Dust And Disquiet they solidified themselves. Any post rock lovers better not pass up this gem because it was a pleasant surprise. Rich in vivid imagery, fabulous musicianship and an incredible payoff, Dust and Disquiet soars.



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user ratings (374)
4
excellent
other reviews of this album
Masthews (4.5)
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Comments:Add a Comment 
Mongi123
September 19th 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Dusting off the old cobwebs here (: felt very inspired to write a piece. This one deserves a lot more attention than it did so please listen to it.



Feel free to critique whatever because it's been a while for me xD

Toondude10
September 19th 2017


15270 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

yessssss

ianblxdsoe
September 19th 2017


1921 Comments


such a great fucking record idk why i dont have this rated

MarsKid
Emeritus
September 19th 2017


21035 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

As I have said before and will continue to say many many times



Echo



and



Abyss



because when the fucking uhuhuhuhuhuhuh kicks in shit gets real

Mongi123
September 19th 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Shit gets real in Rioseco lets be honest haha

Toondude10
September 19th 2017


15270 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

shit gets real in the first second

Mongi123
September 19th 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Yea pretty much lol this hits super hard.

ashcrash9
Contributing Reviewer
September 20th 2017


3416 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

"it's" in the final sentence of paragraph two and the middle of paragraph three should be "its"

"'Run Dry,' Dust and..." in paragraph three seems like it should have an "and" after the comma

the "Combine this" sentence also feels grammatically clunky

"listeners" at the start of paragraph four should be "listener's"

"The Title Track" shouldn't be capitalized

"No one expected" sentence is definitely missing a word in there



not gonna lie Mongi, those typos aside, this review reads pretty stiff

obviously I love the album and agree with the points you make here, but I'd patch the actual writing up a bit if I were in your shoes

nice to see a contrib review for this regardless

Dewinged
Staff Reviewer
September 20th 2017


32225 Comments


Nice to have u back Mongi, album is a blast.

Faraudo
September 20th 2017


4865 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Yeah, it's up there with other all-time Post-Rock greats.

theBoneyKing
September 20th 2017


24712 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Nice to see you writing again Mongi, though I have to agree with a lot of ash's points.

Never really got into this album unfortunately.

TalonsOfFire
Emeritus
September 20th 2017


21009 Comments

Album Rating: 4.4

Great review Mongi, nice to see another from you.

I love this record but it's a bit of a jarring listen every time I jam. It's all-over-the-place, mostly in a good way, but it's probably one of the densest albums I've ever heard. I love pretty much all of this though so it's not really a problem. Arcs of Command, Darkfield, and the t/t in particular are stunning.

Mongi123
September 20th 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks for the kind words guys. I haven't written a music review in almost a year so it's bound to be a little patchy lol I'll correct things in a little bit.

Faraudo
September 21st 2017


4865 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Nah man, it's all good on the review front.

teamster
September 21st 2017


6310 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

I know nothing about grammar Mongi but the second sentence in the last paragraph reads weird. All in all an excellent review and thanks. I think you should have mentioned, I hope I wasn't mis-informed..this is my first Caspian record....but it's the first time they have used vocals? Am I right?

HarryBoBerry
September 21st 2017


620 Comments


Nice to see you again! I adore this album, I don't blame you for choosing this one to review. Great job as usual.

Mongi123
September 21st 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks guys xD I haven't gotten a chance to come and correct yet but hopefully later or tomorrow

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
September 21st 2017


10481 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

yeeeeeesssssss



great record and great review. One thing: I think "often loses its grip" should be "often lose their grip" in the way the sentence is currently written



"What this record is all leading up to is its payoff: The Title Track. It’s one of the best written compositions of post rock of this decade, and perhaps even of this century" = truth

Mongi123
September 22nd 2017


22108 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

There, I corrected lots of your comments guys. Nice to see this up to a 4 again too (:

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
September 22nd 2017


10481 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Not to be too pedantic about this, but the 2nd sentence still isn't correct.



If you boil it down to its essentials it reads 'As new approaches to music keep emerging, established genres often loses its grip', which doesn't work as you've referred to a plural ('genres') as if it is a singular by the phrase 'loses its grip'. Consequently, 'lose their grip' is appropriate.



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