Customer Reviews

City of Echoes

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Compared to their last LP, "The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw," City Of Echoes is a much safer release. Just looking at the track time and overall length of the album should lend some insight to this; the average track time of TFIOTWBTT was a whopping 8:20, whereas the average here is around 5:19 (admittedly, the latter's track count was greater by 1). The longest track in The Fire was over eleven minutes long, while Echoes longest, the title track, only measures in at 7. Also, City of Echoes is about 16 minutes shorter than TFIOTWBTT.

What this does to the sound is even more obvious; Echoes sounds much more organized and harmonic, even condensed when compared with TFIOTWBTT. Each song seems to sustain itself, though there is variation. For example, my personal favorite, track 3, begins with a simple, repeated piano note that in an almost symphonic progression is fleshed out into a full, more staggering chorus of guitar. The interesting aspect here is that it doesn't grow into a towering wave like, say "The Last Days of Winter" did on TFIOTWBTT, but has what you might consider checkpoints where the song grows. This could be anything from another guitar layer to a change in riffs. Either way the sound doesn't sneak up on you as it has on other releases, but rather jumps at you suddenly.

This album doesn't sound quite as epic; instead it sounds intelligent and meticulous, and I have to say that I grow more fond of its accessibility and forwardness with each listen. Perhaps you could slake it up to the band wanting a safer record as I already have, but the bottom line is that the music is still well executed and definitely exhibits movement and variation.

Personally, if I were to sum up the differences from previous releases I would have to say that structure has been emphasized in place of using space and tension. Not to say that these elements are entirely absent, they just aren't as dominant.

Either way, this is a very strong release with a satisfying albeit different sound. It may very well be that the band hoped to add some shorter pieces to their catalogue. If you were a fan before, the best advice (as always) is to listen to the album a couple times and personally decide about the differences.

City of Echoes is much different than its predecessor The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw, but it triumphs beautifully. Many Pelican fans will write this off as "not heavy enough," but that would be an insult to the band. It still has the awesome sludgy riffs and dark melodies, but there is a different mood than their EP or their first two albums. From the rocking opener Bliss In Concrete to the gorgeous title track and to the epic album closer A Delicate Sense of Balance, this CD should please most Pelican fans and win over some new ones in the process.

"City of Echoes" is Pelican's third LP and continues the band's style of instrumental post-rock/metal. Gone are the drawn-out progressive pieces such as "March to the Sea" or "Nightendday" that took the listener on lengthened ten minute plus journeys. Instead "City of Echoes" delivers eight condensed and concise tracks, all roughly around the six-minute mark, and all keeping the themes and ideas trim and tight.

Obviously personal taste will have a major role in determining the result of this new direction. I can see it bringing in new fans due to accessibility, or perhaps reeling back old listeners who became bored with the old longer compositions. On the flipside I can also see it disappointing a portion of fans - those that liked the band's progressive approach. Initially I was quite firmly in the latter camp, irritated by my initial listens I thought Pelican had completely lost their song writing ability, as the album sounded like a confused mess of noise and heavy riffs. But it really did grow after a few more listens, and I began to pick out song structures that initially seemed scrambled.

I appreciate "City of Echoes" more by treating it as one large song, as this way I find it encompasses all of the old elements combined into a more dynamic and contrasting composotion - an aspect lacking in many of the individual compositions. This includes the rich and beautiful acoustic passages (represented by my favourite track on the album "Winds With Hands"), melancholy guitar motifs (evident throughout but most notably in the beautiful title track and "Far from Fields") and thundering riffs (something in plenty with the monstrous "Dead Between The Walls", and the fierce climax to the opener "Bliss In Concrete"). However, this seems slightly lacking as the older compositions would contrast dynamics more effectively and build up to climaxes in typical post-rock fashion, akin to Godspeed You! Black Emporer or Explosions In The Sky. With this new approach the elements are all there, but just divided and cut up into individual short songs.

This approach is certainly a risky development by the band, and is running the risk of the "hardcore" fans throwing the sold-out label at them. But, to Pelican's credit, I think they have done enough. "City of Echoes" is a detachment from the old progressive styling, and is not the ideal direction I personally want from them, but they retain enough of the old magic and formula for me to enjoy it, and give it a good rating.

Pelican seems to have done something few bands are willing to do. Lose the singer. So, without an egocentric frontman to muck it up for them(i.e. axl rose, M. Shadows, James Hetfield, etc.) they now can focus on what really matters, the music. And they have done well, very well at that aspect.

Creating beautiful shifting melodies, and bringing down the house with thunderous riffs, these guys make some of the most innovative, complex, and at sometimes eerie music ive ever heard. Simply amazing.

They also feature members from another band called Tusk. They are a little more on the extreme side than Pelican, although I do suggest them aswell to fans of aggressive music in general.

In a whole, if you love music, and I have the feeling you do, buy this. Yeah, buy this and love it like I've been loving it since I bought it. Um, yeah.

:)

My buddy turned me onto Pelican, through their album "What We All Come to Need". This album although coming out 3 or 4 years prior is no less a valid expression of this band and their sound! After viewing the video for "Lost in the Headlights" I was secure in my position that I had to have this album, and I can honestly say should you decide the same, you will not be disappointed!

I'm a musician and love every type of music. I've been waiting all my life for a heavy band to come along and finally be to heavy music what say Miles Davis is to Jazz or Bach is to classical, and of course without vocals. Plainly put these guys say more on this album than Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and every other douche-bag guitarist who made an instrumental album combined. Infact, to call this music instrumental compared to the crap that makes up the genre of instrumentals would be to insult Pelican. This is heavy music at the top of its form. The sad part is, for people to enjoy it, they will need to listen to it.

3 1/2

Even if they were beginning to borrow from themselves, one of metal's most melodic musicians make massively moving material.

Pelican was new to me with this disc, and came highly recommended. They did not disappoint in the slightest.

Thick, melodic, heavy, occasionally kinda sludgy. These are jams that actually are listenable. Very moody and eclectic, actually rather upbeat in spots... very good warm sunny day driving music. It's a huge change compared to my more typical doomy metal listening fare, but it's not the least out of place in a CD mix with Sabbath, Mastodon and Stevie Ray Vaughan... which shows how easy it is(n't) to classify...

Just give it a shot... the samples are only vaguely reminiscent of the sound... the tracks unfold and deepen greatly over the course of their run time. Unles you like nothing but screeching, pummeling black or death metal, you just may grow to love this.

Pelican proves that you don't need a singer to create thoughtful and beautiful tunes for a hard rock/progressive rock band. And you don't need any wailing guitar solos to make a sweeping, grand epic. In City of Echoes, Pelican shows off their impeccable sense of melody, without words. I love how on some magazine covers you see the band with tape over their mouths. Anyway, this is a solid and exciting album from the machine gun drums of its opener to the subtly beautiful closer, "A Delicate Sense of Balance." Whether you're sunning yourself by a pool, studying for your next final, or even filming a movie, check out this album.

This really is a great album. By the way, there are no vocals, in case you're new to Pelican. To me, that's a good thing: the truly beautiful guitar work can really shine without the distraction of forced lyrics or drug-induced ramblings.

Speaking of which, what's up with Amazon's Editorial review? Maybe I haven't listened to City of Echoes in the right *eh-hem* state yet, but I'm definitely not getting the whole pile-of-elderly-heat-stroke-victims vibe from it. Just sayin'.