Customer Reviews

Tunnel Blanket

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

 

 

If you loved TWDY's epynonymous (2008) or "Young Mountain" (2006), as I did, then there's no guarantee that you'll like "Tunnel Blanket." Those prior albums remain among my favorite and most played post-rock music. I am still moved by the build-up and climax of "A Three-Legged Workhorse," "Threads," and "Quiet." Even the more subtle and mellow guitar licks of "They Move on Tracks of Never-E" moved me with progressive variation throughout the track.

None of these elements that I came to love are present in "Tunnel Blanket." TWDY has clearly taken Tunnel Blanket in a new direction toward the ambient / drone genres. Unlike prior albums, the tracks on "Tunnel Blanket" generally don't have a distinguishable melody. No repeating and varying guitar lines. Instead, TWDY provides an array of tones and sounds that echo and resonate for minutes on end, with the occalsional crashing cymbals

As drone music goes, this is pretty well done. I appreciate that the band has every right to make whatever music they want. I also appreciate growth, progress, and experimentation for their own sakes, and I truly hope that many people come to love this album. Unfortunately for me, it just isn't in any of my preferred genres.

If you're a fan of Brian Eno-inspired bands such as Boards of Canada, Stars of the Lid, Hammock, Mono, etc., then this album should be mandatory listening.

If you're more into Explosions in the Sky, Caspian, Maybeshewill, Sigur Ros, and Russian Circles, then this album might not speak to you.

I imagine that the new material might integrate well with the old material in a live performance. TWDY is still a great band, and I'd love to see what they do next. Cheers.

I was on the fence with this album when I first heard it. Nothing really jumped out to me and I thought the album was forgettable. Fortunately I was able to see them live this past weekend and after seeing the new songs performed live, I now understand what the band was going for with this new LP. Give this album time to sink in, for when it does, it is extremely rewarding.

Favorite Tracks:

Communal Blood

Little Smoke

You know this album isn't for everyone, what album is.

But I love listening to this album completely all the way through. Going from Little Smoke to Powdered Hands is time well spent each time I do it. It's great, it's soundscape, it's NOT like S/T or Quiet but so what?

Each song is different but all comes together very well and I love playing games or just driving down the highway listening to it. If that isn't what music does for you then I don't know what else to tell you.

1) Little Smoke - A slow intro but very good and that keyboard part is haunting. I hum it to myself without realizing it sometimes

2) Glass Realms - COMPLETELY soundscape. They just let the feedback carry the song

3) Communal Blood - The most similar to Quiet's tracks it moves a lot and centers on the guitar.

4) Reprise - Goes back to the haunting sounds of Little Smoke. They're very similar but it's extremely welcome

5) Killed the Lord - VERY different from TWDY but it also has a lot of inertia to it so it's not just soundscape. I think "movie wrap up song" when I hear it

6) Osario - Effectively an intro to Black Dunes, very short

7) Black Dunes - Take the soundscape of Little Smoke and give it some classic TWDY love and you get Black Dunes. This is one of the best tracks of Tunnel Blanket and it reminds me a lot of "There Are Some Remedies Worse Than the Disease"

8) Powdered Hands - My favorite track, it really makes the "tunnel blanket" of the album come alive with a lecture playing within the soundscape with descriptions of what near death experiences are (inferring the "tunnels of light" that are indicative of the title "tunnel blanket") it's right about here where you realize just how much it was worth listening to the album all the way through.

Awesome album.

To keep it short and simple, this album is a lot different than their previous releases. Contrary to what other reviews have said, you do not have to endure terrible stuff to enjoy it. I enjoy it for what it is, which isn't necessarily the normal post-rock instrumental that you're probably used to, but still good either way. Listen to it without expectations and you may enjoy it more than if you go into it expecting what you're used to.

I am completely new to this band, and I have not heard their previous albums. Therefore, I am reviewing this album on its own merits. And it is a great album. I like ambient music, but I mainly like it as passages in longer songs. I typically have a tough time with ambient-only stuff. I feel that this album is almost like a gateway into the ambient world. It's mainly ambient, but changing textures and drums that come in make it very engaging and enjoyable. I can't put my finger on what exactly makes it good, but I often find myself immersed into this album. It may not be for everyone, but I would highly recommend it!

The other reviews urge you to power through it regardless of whether you're enjoying it. This should start raising red flags. This isn't medicine, it's music. Sounds like they forgot to write any music. I'm all for innovation in art, but this is just sounds for the sake of sounds. Sounds like someone was leaning on a keyboard while they were sleeping and accidentally recorded it. Enjoy!

I was surprised by how much I disliked this album. I really enjoy their other releases and was very much looking forward to this. But, there's no there there. It's just noise. There seems to be a pattern lately of bands getting lazy, I'm not going to name names. But the meat that made their music great is, in a word, gone. They just churn out stuff, PR it to the max on their Facebook page, get the fans all psyched and then: fail. I'm not ready to give up on TWDY quite yet but they're going to have to release something pretty good after this let down.