Review Summary: We bein’ cacophonous out here.
I have tried to write a review for this album what feels like twelve thousand times and I couldn’t seem to put anything together that is coherent or logical. The main reason is that
See You Tomorrow Baby is an album that sounds like I should like it way more than I do, and I can’t put my finger on exactly why. In fact, I’m having such trouble with it that I can’t even seem to write about it without second-guessing myself. I keep running into spots where I feel like the album is a soullessly technical breakdown-fest that has no meaning, only for Weston Super Maim to throw in some epic atmosphere, or turn the song into an angry acid trip, or slip in a legitimately nasty guitar solo or two—and I can’t help but feel like I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. Yeah I know, I don’t get it either, but let’s give this a go anyway.
Weston Super Maim promote themselves as a hyper-technical metal duo and while technicality is cool and all, it only goes so far. What that technicality actually translates to is a variety of breakdowns in a variety of time signatures, some of which are a blast to listen to (more on that shortly) and others of which are irritatingly boring (listen to “Johnny Menomic” to understand what I’m talking about). The whole “let’s do lots of breakdowns” thing has been successfully done by other bands, but at times it feels like Weston Super Maim’s production or execution lacks the same sort of verve those bands have been able to harness. There are stretches of
See You Tomorrow Baby that feel lifeless and it puts an unnecessary damper on the whole experience.
Reversely though, there is a lot to like about this album (both technically and otherwise). Weston Super Maim are at their best when they write blistering segments of cacophonous insanity a la the beginning of the title track opener or almost the entirety of “Brute Fact,” or when they take a deep breath and add some depth to their breakdown-heavy sound. The end of “Slow Hell,” as an example, showcases one of the best breakdowns on the entire record—where Weston Super Maim add some space and atmosphere to the experience and create an atmosphere that feels like looking at the night sky or staring into the ocean deep. Another example is the end of “Kryptonite Renegade” which slowly morphs itself from a breakdown into something a little more insane.
Furthermore, while Weston Super Maim don’t do a whole lot of melody, there are moments where it certainly proves that they know how. The end of the opening track breaks into spacious synths before diving back into the batsh*t craziness it starts with. “Slow Hell” and “The Bare Maximum” both feature soulful guitar solos (with the latter being provided by Ian Wayne of Soreption) that provide a welcome contrast to the machinelike technicality of the vast majority of the record. The closing track, “Perfect Meadows in Every Direction,” is an eight minute odyssey that—despite its length—manages to be one of the most cohesive and engaging songs on the record and skillfully blends the strengths of Weston Super Maim’s songwriting into a winding epic.
I want to talk about the vocals, production and so forth but I feel like they are good enough not to warrant further discussion, as they are factually secondary to the points I’ve outlined above. The guest spots are also excellent, but don’t do much to change my overall view. There is no lack of skill or technical ability in
See You Tomorrow Baby, but a good portion of that skill is wasted on technicality for technicality’s sake. When Weston Super Maim actually sit back and make music that sounds like it was intended for artistic expression though, it is not only interesting but can be anywhere from strikingly engaging to unrestrained fun. I don’t know if you’ll listen to this album more than once, but you’re more than likely to have a good time listening to it.
