Customer Reviews

Avalanche and Inundation [Vinyl]

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

 

 

This album has a scope in sound that is broad. In fact the image conjured in my mind after many listens is of a tidal wave slowly reaching crest and approaching. It is very musical, in the musicological sense of the word, and contains many movements within it (I recommend listening to the album as a whole, rather just listening to individual tracks for this appraisal; anyone who thinks the album is a dead medium doesn't listen to drone!). I am sure some people would reject the album as some SUNN)))0 rip off (and further get hipster points by stating that they are an Earth rip off, which is sort of the point), but that simply would be the sign of a novice not understanding the musical language of drone, as a devoted fan of shoegazing bands would not tolerate someone falsely stating that Lush ripped off My Bloody Valentine. Which is to convey that commenting on simularities in any genre do not really touch on the richness of diversity with which the musicians involved actually produce. The title of my review is meant to convey the broadness of the sound, as though walls of sound are the chordal movements themselves. The first track, "Skies of Joy and Sorrow" begins faintly and approaches a higher tone for nearly 3 minutes before added guitars enter with lower chord at increased recording volume, and this beginning is reminiscent of how an avanlanche may begin with a slow build up. Here the emotional tone is set as bleak and vast. The second track, "Traveling Alongside Death," crawls at a pace more overt and bold than the beginning of the first song, in repetitive bursts that alter slightly over the course of 7 minutes with feedback driving the movement, as though death would be a repetitive and perpetual state. The final track, "Cascadia," being the longest track is personally my favorite as it has geographical ties to the Pacific Northwest. I get the feeling that it was crafted with looking at the silver lining of having your skull jackhammered slowly, but resolutely. Overall, the album is artful and conceptually appealling as the music builds and fades, ebbs and flows, in a manner consistent with the missive of the title.