Customer Reviews

13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this album almost entirely on spec, having read a flat-out rave review of it on allmusic. The only other thing I had heard by any of the people involved was a Godspeed You! Black Emperor album which I'd liked, but not loved.

Somewhat to my surprise, as I'm no longer in the first flush of my youth and should be getting increasingly narrow-minded by now, I love this. I am 37 and long ago stopped feeling like I had to keep up with every single new direction in rock music; I am mildly suspicious of anything that is slapped with a label that begins with 'post-...', but I know it's not the fault of the musicians. This album does it for me, though, on every level.

It starts, as the allmusic reviewer noted, with a series of sort-of-tuned but not unpleasant high-pitched tones, which then blend into a quiet and ominous intro to the first song, '1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound'. There's a simple little bass riff, then female voices start singing the song title over and over again, on one note. Then another voice starts singing it in harmony. Then a guy with a raw, passionate, cracked, slightly goofy voice joins in...this goes on for a while, the guy varying his words while the women keep singing the beautiful but threatening refrain...then they stop.

Then the band plunges into the song proper, full-on bashing drums and raw cello and swirling violins and fuzzy guitars all playing a riff that Tony Iommi would have been proud to come up with, but slower, more worried, more chaotic. It goes on like that for the best part of fifteen minutes, sometimes changing, with the occasional instrumental passage, but basically this glorious communal racket that surges like waves crashing on a beach in a winter storm at night. Yes, it's repetitive, but it changes the way the sea changes, basically the same but always just different enough to be fascinating. And that's just the first song.

Yes, the singer has a voice that snags your attention - so does Jonathan Richman, so does Keith Morris, so does Frank Zappa, to name but three other guys who you can't easily ignore while they're singing. I actually like his voice, which is certainly easier to listen to than some people I can think of (for example, I would love to listen to The Mars Volta but I can't stand the singer).

I am raving about this album because it's, by any standards, seriously good, and deserves more than people complaining that it's not enough like their old stuff. (When supposed fans of the band are complaining about the album, you have to think, with friends like these...) I will go back and listen to their old stuff because I like this so much, but since this is apparently a band that is continually changing its sound, I respect that about them, and I would hope that longer-term fans of the band than I would respect it too.

Yet more evidence that when it comes to making music that touches every part of the body simultaneously - head, heart, gut, nerves, loins, clenched fists - sometimes you just have to go to Canadians.

The first time I heard this album (cranked up, in my car), I hated it and was ready to dismiss it as terrible. The second time (volume low, as background music while I worked), it was a bit more palatable. I think my final opinion of it is that it's listenable but weak, for several reasons.

In past albums, the long track format has worked because they've often been songs that change direction midstream, or even separate, loosely connected songs. But here, the songs actually seem too long, and a couple of them are too repetitive. The first track answers the question, How many times can a single phrase be repeated over the course of a 15 minute song? The answer: way too many.

Likewise, Efrim's singing has been bearable in the past because it's been present in smaller doses, sharing the stage with group vocals and long instrumental passages. Here, it's in the forefront throughout the entire album, and we're painfully reminded of just how bad a singer he is. He should have stuck to using his voice as one of the band's many instruments, rather than making it a focal point.

Honestly, I've never loved an ASMZ album from beginning to end, but until now they've all had enough brilliant music to keep me coming back. This one just has way too few of those great moments. But then again, I favor the band's quiet, pretty songs, and their string-heavy post rock pieces. Those elements are occasionally present here, but aren't the focus of the album. This is the band's rock album, with Efrim's abrasive singing stealing the show. Other, more hard-core fans of the band may enjoy it much more than I do, but it doesn't appeal much to my tastes. Hopefully next time around, Efrim will give up his rock-star frontman routine, and the band will go back to making the orchestral post-rock that I've loved in the past.

There remains a strong contingent of people who still want their post-rock subtle, elegant and adorned in ribbons. They still want it to be accessible and gentle - to be inoffensive so they can let it hopelessly loop in the background to their daily activities. The result is an immense over-saturation of mediocre, atmospheric noodling that accounts for the majority of post-rock today. The one-time powerful and grandiose sound has became reduced to formulaic cliches. It has been drained of its original vitality.

I can remember years back hearing the likes of Slint, Godspeed You! Black Emporer and Mogwai and being immediately taken. The atmosphere, the textures, the guitar sounds...it was unlike anything I had ever heard, and still haven't to this day. It was cutting edge, it was experimental, it was utterly powerful. It was POST-rock. It was most importantly foreward-thinking. Sadly, it has lost its way, and I can't help but question what happened to all the potential? What happened to music without barriers, without constraints? How did it all become middle-ground, ambient instrumental `rock'? What happened to the punch in it all?

Thankfully other people have been thinking likewise, including Efrim Menuck himself. To be blunt, "13 Moons" is the first post-rock album that hasn't bored me in a long time. Maybe even years. It's a hefty kick in the balls to the congealed bile that has been clogging this once superb genre.

This should be evident with one listen to the immense "1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound". Gentle plucking and a haunting vocal harmony repeating the title set the scene. Around the refreshingly early 4 minute mark instruments are added - the guitars ring with a real gritty tone, there's even a hint of a guitar RIFF! Steady of there Efrim, you might give yourself a cardiac arrest! Anyway, the drums crash, the strings pierce and detract, and Efrim unleashes his angsty vocals. Things build and build, twisting and turning, until the main melody is unleashed in unison with every instrument. It's a beautiful moment and it takes me right back to the glory days of GY!BE. Satisfyingly, so satisfyingly, the crescendo is stripped down, taken to its minimal extreme and washed over with Efrim's idiosyncratic delay chords. The song is a sheer triumph. It had me smiling, fist pumping the air and shouting YES! YES! THIS IS MOST DEFINATELY NOT BACKGROUND MUSIC, HUZZAH!

I won't go into details with all the songs here, that would be like...listening to other recent post-rock albums! All you need to know is that excellence is continued. The final crescendo to the title track is immense, and the melodies throughout "Black Waters Bowed" are as touching as anything in the band's back catalogue.

I also want to address the vocals and lyrics. I've read a bunch of reviews claiming Menuck has ruined A Silver Mt.ZIon's sound with his newfound emphasis on vocals. A barrage of abuse has been slung at them - tone deaf, grating, unlistenable etc. His lyrics have also been attacked as being perverse and naively obvious. I really couldn't care less. Yes, his vocals are often whacked out of key, but they are full of energy and emotion. It's refreshing to hear someone just occasionally unleash his voice, not giving a rat's anus what comes out. When the music gets big, his vocals penetrate over the top so wonderfully. At times it acts more like another instrument than a voice.

And then the lyrics...sure, a line like "the hangman has a hard-on" is deliberately obtuse and maybe a little pretentious, but hey, since when was this band not? I find it ridiculous that people can attack the lyrics as pretentious cliches and disregard all the other jargon surrounding these guys. For example, their incessant desire to slam as many words in a song title as possible, or their odd seemingly pointless tinkering with their name. Also, have all you critics always understood what this music is saying. I mean, exactly? Can you all say you really got exactly what GY!BE's message was about? All those clippings and texts in liner notes, do you get all that? Sure, you know both bands have an anti-establishment, political thing going on, but is it crystal clear to you? Surely by now people can be ready for the odd deliberately obtuse, over-your-head `message'. To bring up ASMZ on this is like being surprised the latest Metallica album is rubbish.

Overall I can say that this is a post-rock album that really kicks you in the teeth. For a while now the genre has been a slacking mess, full to the brim of mediocre ambient rock bile. I've been bored so much that I had become disillusioned. Certainly "13 Moons" is rough around the edges, but it's simply the most monumental ride this genre has seen since GY!BE.

The Good News: A Silver Mt. Zion come out rawking!
The Bad News: Efrim comes out singing - and does not stop.

Now, I am a huge fan of this musical collective. I own every album that Silver Mt. Zion, Godspeed, Hrsta, Set Fire to Flames, and Valley of Giants has released (these being different bands that the various musicians on this album have made). Simply put, these people make some of the most creative, experimental, intense, even spiritual music I've ever heard. I love it. The MUSIC, that is.

I can remember when Efrim's voice first began appearing on songs from earlier Zion releases. Like glass breaking during the majestic proceedings, it would slap you out of the blissful trance you were in, only to end after a few minutes and give way to more great music. Maybe that was the point - to slap you out of your trance. If so, I am not a fan of the point. With each subsequent album, his voice has became more and more prominent, and we are now left with this album in which Efrim's nails-on-the-blackboard wailing dominates. And I cannot stand Efrim's singing. It is screechy and whiny. And this is coming from someone who considers unconventional singers such as Jeff Mangum and Will Oldham among my favorites. If these guys are determined to have vocals at all I wish they would let somebody else sing, perhaps one of the ladies. In my opinion, Efrim should have indulged his desire to sing in some eponymous albums instead of tainting the Godspeed/Silver Zion brand.

All of this is not to say that I do not greatly respect the man as a musician and there are moments of greatness on this album like all the rest. The first two tracks have Zeppelin-esque riffage in some places and the band rocks harder than they have in quite some time while still keeping the grand scope.

Perhaps in a decade or two they will release "deluxe" versions of these albums that contain just the instrumentals and some bonus songs. If so, I will be ready with my wallet.

While a bit of a departure for previous outings, the new Silver Mt. Zion is fierce and beautiful. Vocals now dominate the songs, instead of playing a backing pack to the ensemble.

At first listen, it can be a bit daunting. The rough and unpolished vocals of the lead singer can seem grating when taken out of context from the role it plays in the music. But after a while, everything starts to settle into place and the new record is another strong entry in the collection of Silver Mt. Zion.

I'm a huge fan of Efrem and all of his work, but I have to admit that this album is a little disappointing. I've taken the time (a few times) to sit down and really listen to it, and I still can't get into this one as much as other albums.

This album is a lot different from previous efforts, more similar to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but not quite. Partly I think the new raw sound comes from the addition of drummer Eric Craven of Hangedup (gotta check them out) as well as anger at the lack of change. Like they've been screaming in our ears forever about the state of things and the need for change, and now they're avoiding the subtle hints and shoving a 'F**k you' in your face in desperation. And boy when they drop in with spine-shattering chords/drums/whailing vocals, do you feel it. But still it's beautiful. It's not all anger and aggression, there are still the wonderful group choral sections, the gentle reminder that 'some hearts are true' in the final track.

I would have to say that this, in combination with SMZs two unreleased tracks Metal Bird and There Is A Light that they're performing on their tour currently, equate to Silver Mt Zion's best work.

The vocals on this recording have improved immensely from past efforts with a distinctive and mature "anti-vocal" style (al al Dylan, Young, or the Mekons). The rock somehow remains exciting over the length of the elongated 12 minute plus songs. And I believe that the political lyrics are apt, in contrast to some of the inane reviews on the net by indoctrinated hacks. This is certainly so far one of the best recordings of the year and the best Silver Mt Zion recording since their first mostly instrumental romantic classically orientated chamber album.

I am in love with ASMZ, but this album does not reach the stature as the likes of "Shafts of Light" "Horses in the Sky" and "Born Into Trouble" have.

The first 12 tracks are a few seconds long each, all with static/blip types of sounds leading up to the meat of the album, the last four tracks... all clocking in over 13 minutes each. It's basically filler for a typical ASMZ or GY!BE album which usually consists of just a few epic tracks. There is more of a reliance on vocals from the previous albums, even more so than "Horses" which was quite a heavy vocal album as compared to the rest of their library.

i would suggest to first time ASMZers not to purchase this as the first record. Definitely "Shafts of Light" would be a better album to start out with. For experienced ASMZ listeners, you will find the signature sounds you might expect... but for me it is more of a B-side album. Nothing has stood out tremendously and the sounds are typical of an ASMZ album. Nothing special, but definitely nothing wrong either.