Mathy instrumental split is a real sleeper
I’m going to be honest. I accepted this review because I found the lengthy band names, Gifts from Enola (GFE) and You.May.Die.in.the.Desert (YMDITD), attractive and interesting. I actually thought I’d be getting something much heavier; one band’s namesake is the atomic bomb and the other’s vividly descriptive name seemed to suggest some Scandinavian black metal. I was in for a surprise. What I got was a split LP from Differential created by two of the most creative and exciting instrumental/post-rock bands I’ve heard this year.
The biggest fear for a Split LP is that one band will upstage the other. I can say with confidence that this is not the case with Harmonic Motion Volume I. To the contrary, the bands here sound very similar. Both bands seem to have perfected the fusion of math-rock a la Don Caballero (particularly the most recent incarnation headed by Damon Che) with the dynamics and texture of Caspian or Red Sparowes.
Close listening does reveal stylistics differences and the best analogy I could think of would be Opeth’s Deliverance/Damnation double-album (not that either of these bands sound anything remotely like Opeth). Just like on those releases, each band here explores a different interpretation of the same basic aesthetic.
YMDITD is the Damnation side with a softer more atmospheric post-rock sound. Structurally, their half is more experimental with the songs being more thematic than having any real form or build-up; a melody or idea is explored, developed, and discarded for another one. This approach works really well and, combined with catchy, accessible melodies, maintains my attention. I love “Mitchell vs. Rowesdower,” whose second theme reminds of the soundtrack to a Bomberman SNES game of my youth.
“The Sun’s Condolences” is probably the strongest song on the album and firmly establishes GFE as the testosterone-laden Deliverance of the two. GFE takes the same mathy post-rock sound and replaces the nuanced clean guitars with the bombast of distortion and a driving hard-rock vibe. While the mutant bastard-child of Russian Circles and Pelican comes to mind, that description doesn’t do the excellence of GFE justice. My only real complaint is that the drummer oddly seems to equate heavy passages with banging a cymbal on every beat. Like everybody else, he should listen to more metal.
The sound these two bands share is a double edged-sword and while it could be interpreted as a criticism, it is actually what makes this LP so fun to listen to. The appeal of Harmonic Motion Volume I is hearing where GFE and YMDITD intersect and, even more importantly, where they diverge. The quality and consistency of the songs is high across the board and the album merits unforced, repeated listens. Differential Records has a real gem. Go buy it.
| Reviewer:Bernard Koch Added: April 8th 2008 |
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