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Release Info : This release was issued by First Flight Records in the USA
Reviews : Another supreme release from Resonant, this time round diverting their attention momentarily from the icy log-cabin planes of Iceland and heading west towards Nashville, Tennessee for a sublime quiet/loud post-rock session with Emery Reel. “.....For And Acted Upon Through Diversions” was originally released on the fledgling “First Flight” imprint but has been licensed here by Resonant with much care and attention to detail. The packaging owes much to the Constellation pedigree – dye-cut cardboard slipcase and multi-layered artwork, a good signpost for the shimmering cocophany of instrumentation to be found within. One for fans of Mogwai, Godspeed, Do Make Say Think etc.... Highly Recommended! BOOMKAT Retaining
your interest is no problem for Emery Reel on their debut album. Seven
instrumental tracks with (just slightly) pretentious titles that might
seem mild at first but can quickly build up to create organized chaos. And
on “…For and Acted Upon Through Diversions,” the spotlight is not on
one instrument; it is an ensemble. Surface-wise, there just isn’t a whole lot that differentiates Emery Reel from many of the other instrumental “post-rock” bands out there. Emery Reel employs the tried and true quiet/loud dynamic, their songs transitioning from quiet, pensive moments to gigantic, violent clashes of sound in the blink of an eye. Their music is cinematic in scope, easily lending itself to images of travelling through bleak, blasted lands, of wandering beneath black, storm-filled skies. There’s an urgent, doomy tone that colors their music a melancholy shade, though the crescendoes and swells offer brief glimmers of hope and victory against whatever dark forces may be arrayed against us. And of course, there are the cryptic and foreboding song titles, such as “They Are Cohercing Ideas In The Mind” (taken from the scribblings of a schizophrenic, no less) and “His Hammer Is My Axe”. Though far from original, Emery Reel does dive into their music with quite a bit of gusto. Their songs are exquisitely crafted, and it’s obvious they poured their heart and soul into each one. But there are times when the formula simply works against them. After awhile, the giant swells of sound that punctuate nearly every song on the album all start sounding alike, and though there are a few twists along the way, it’s pretty clear just when and where they’re going to break out. The solemn mood that Emery Reel so doggedly pursues also gets a bit suffocating. “Cam’s March” is aptly titled, driven by a stark, solemn drumbeat and browbeaten guitar melodies. The song plods along, and the band doesn’t do too much to break out of the monotony until the very end, when another impressive wall of sound begins brewing and the drums start crashing. However, it’s nothing the band doesn’t do elsewhere in the album, and to the same effect. I suppose in more cynical hands, that last sentence could be used to describe the entire album. However, I still find myself listening to the disc quite regularly, and always enjoying it a fair amount. “Why?”, you ask? Part of it is just because I like this particular sound. No matter how many times I hear one of these instrumental bands do it, I always get the same thrill deep down inside when the drums start picking up the pace, the guitars start churning, and the whole song begins its march towards some striking crescendo. But even beyond that, when I listen more closely to what’s going on between those climactic moments, I hear things that do give Emery Reel’s music some much-needed freshness. Like the underrated My Education, Emery Reel displays the ability to work in dynamics and subtleties that give their music some distinguishing aspects. I just wish they’d use it more often. “They Are Cohercing Ideas Into The Mind” begins the album on a rather abstract note, with disorienting notes, analog squiggles, and a giant, ebbing wall of noise that seems to grow out of nowhere. Sparse, distant horns can be heard, wheezing away somewhere behind the veils of noise that build up over the song’s course, reminiscent of the instrumental passages on Pale Saints’ “Slow Buildings” album. “Hence; Therefore, Again” starts off with crunchy drums and a synth bassline, which is then tempered by delicate vibes and sparse guitars. There’s a nice juxtaposition here between hard and soft sounds, and though it doesn’t sound like much, it’s one of the disc’s nicer touches. Of course, real drums come crashing in soon enough, stumbling about like a drunk roommate at 2:00am, and additional layers of guitar slowly trickle in from the song’s periphery only to rise up and overwhelm everything else. The hypnotic guitars and vibes on “Departure Of Hope” prove quite entrancing, almost such that you don’t notice the transition to the surging guitars and drums that have become Emery Reel’s calling card. However, just when it seems like you’ll need to prepare yourself for another Godspeed-insired onslaught, the band pulls off an unexpected transition. Opting for a more subtle and haunting route, the band reigns in their instruments, allowing ghostly guitar notes to ring out and slowly surround the listener with their sad, solemn chimings. This sudden shift in tone works incredibly well, and is one of the album’s most memorable and intriguing moments. The album closes with “Uneasy, The Crossing Guard”, which surges forth with crashing drums and a distorted synth bass a la “Hence, Therefore Again”. Meanwhile, delicate Rhodes and crystalline guitars gently descend upon the harsher rhythms like a soft snowfall. As the song progresses, it grows more refined and stripped down, as if shedding any unnecessary energy until all that remains is a lengthy, surreal passage of gasping horns, field recordings, and gently echoing guitars. Even though I should find this part monotonous, I don’t. Instead, I find it quite affecting, lulling me into that state of mind that usually leads to staring out the window on bleak and rainy days, scanning grey streets for something though I don’t what, expecting something to arrive though I don’t know when. On the surface, there’s nothing much to differentiate Emery Reel from the rest of the noisy instrumental camp. It often feels like the band has spent a bit too much time trying to emulate their influences, and I wouldn’t doubt that the purchase of at least one of the band’s effects pedals was prompted by its mention in a Stuart Braithwaite interview. But I’m not willing to completely write off the band as derivative, not yet anyways. Even though ...For And Acted Upon Through Diversions is only their first album, there are plenty of hints that they can move past their influences and develop a more unique sound. Only time and future recordings will tell if they are successful or not. In the meantime, I’ll probably continue to enjoy this album, not only because of the music that’s on it, but also because of the potential it hints at. OPUSZINE These days, it's hard to be truly original in creating new music. Chances are, no matter what you lay to tape, someone will inevitably compare you to someone else. Even bands that pop out of the woodwork with something that sounds pretty damn unique often get molded with a crossbreed comparison, saying they sound like one group mixed with a little bit of another. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, and that's why my lazy ass is going to say that Emery Reel sounds something like Explosions In The Sky crossed with a touch of the louder Tristeza work. In saying the above, though, I must also mention that it's nothing against the Emery Reel in comparing them to the above bands. Despite a somewhat unweildy title, ...For And Acted Upon Through Diversions is a pretty damn solid work, especially considering it's a debut release. Packaged in a lovely handmade chipboard package with a nice big transparency in the front (think Constellation Records), the seven songs on this disc rumble through just over 50 minutes of gorgeous guitar textures that sometimes rock you back and forth like a lullaby and sometimes rock you back and forth like the apocolypse is nigh. If you've listened to anything even as far back as Slint, you've probably heard something similar, but not every group that picks up a couple guitars and a drumset can pull it off this well. The opening track of "They Are Cohercing Ideas Into The Mind" is nothing more than something to set the stage, as it slowly puffs out with billows of guitars, radio static and even a touch of horns. "A New Beginning" follows up properly, letting loose right from the start with an almost marching rhythm and chiming guitars that build to a quick crescendo before dropping off into a subdued, bass lead passage that very much takes its time in getting loud again, adding chimes as a layer before totally dropping off and finally storming back in the closing minutes. "Hence; Therefore, Again" packs another build into a much more compact time frame, opening with guitars and keyboards before closing with dual guitars and rumbling drums. There's no real formula for most of the tracks, they simply work a mood for awhile and eventually find their way to some sort of release. Sometimes, the shift in dynamics is huge and sudden, and other times they take their time in reaching a glorious noise. The final track of "Uneasy, The Crossing Guard" chugs along for almost a third of its 15-minute runing time before dropping off into ambience, replete with field recordings and that touch of horns that barely escaped in the opening track of the release. Towards the closing, it comes back for one last blast, and the dense cacophany is a solid reminder that the group can rock out when they want. All in all, it's a fine release from a group with a fine sense of structure and sound. If you're into either of the bands mentioned above (especially EITS), I doubt you'll go wrong here. ALMOST COOL First Flight would be a great name for a record label from North Carolina, but they're from Missouri, which frustrates me greatly. It makes me think that when they thought of names for the label, they just went with the first thing that came to mind. The label's flagship band, The Potomac Accord, is similarly frustrating, as their Slintisms provide little new to those who've spent the last 10 years suffering through uninspiringly Slintish bands. The label's newest release looks on the surface to be more of the same: Constellation-esque sounds, Constellation-esque packaging, and quotes from a "diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic" on the back cover (maybe he is quoting Iron Maiden too). Time for another dismissive review, right? Well, not exactly. Underneath that derivative looking surface is, yes, a very derivative band, however there are enough pretty melodies and crushing crescendos to look past the fact that everything here comes from Mogwai or Godspeed You Black Emperor. For example, the dainty guitar part during the quiet sections of "A New Beginning" provides a nonchalantly pretty melody and a shimmering tone. The stuttering drums, vibes, and organ drone of "Hence, Therefore Again" are similarly pleasing, creating a very liquid sound that seems to glide. The mixing of the songs creates a very cinematic sound, creating depth and ambiance, like when trumpets blurt in the distance of "Uneasy, the Crossing Guard" or when the tones of "They Are Cohercing Ideas Into the Mind" start to echo during the swell of sound. Definitely don't bother trading in your old Do Make Say Think records for Emery Reel, but if you still get some mileage out of those records, this one might be worth adding too. FAKE JAZZ The only bad thing about
the debut full-length by Nashville, Tennessee's Emery Reel is that it's
comparable to a few things. Fans of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky,
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono, and Maserati take note: the band's
quiet-loud, tonal-over-technical dynamics fall pretty easily into that
idiomatic corner of post-rock. Be that as it may, however, as the proverb
says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Facts are facts: not every album
has to be groundbreaking to be excellent, let alone worth listening to.
And yet, repeated listens to this album pose the question that, with a
drummer as good as this, and with guitarists so in-command of the noise
humming and shrieking from their amps, does it really matter if they're
treading on new territory?
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