Release of the Month: March Picks

Release of the Month ~ March 2011

The Silent Ballet staff counts down its top picks of the month.

March’s biggest musical event was the response to the Japanese tsunami. The labels were the first to chime in, beginning with Hibernate and Experimedia. They were soon joined by a slew of compilations, led by Antiopic’s Benefit for the Recovery in Japan. Home Normal’s offices were pretty badly wrecked, but thankfully Ian Hawgood and company turned out to be okay. Sure, there were bigger efforts involved, and bigger stars, but these artists and labels are part of our family: our hearts go out to the victims, and our applause to those who have chipped in to help.

After February’s multi-artist rumble, March was a two-horse race, with a late entry making a surprise appearance in the three-spot. In any other month, due to the amount of votes it received, the second-place finisher would have won, but the eventual champion would not be denied. This month’s releases demonstrate the vitality of the post-rock genre. If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s that evolution trumps stagnation; in this field, the braver artists make the bigger impact.

1) Grails ~ Deep Politics
Temporary Residence Limited
Grails began as a post-rock band, but over the years grew into something greater. Perhaps it was the unexplained disappearance of a band member that set them off the rails all those years ago, spiralling into a psychedelic sludge that threatened to pull them under. But Deep Politics finds them emerging from the psychotropic desert, clutching the reins of fierce horses, as if War, Famine, Disease and Death had decided to make a pit stop before the Apocalypse. The lap steel adds a western tinge; the moog pulses with a sixties vibe; the violin adds a sense of widescreen drama. Even the track titles are followed by director’s notes: “Proud impressive main title.” “Muscular main theme.” This latter piece – the album’s title track – is its coup de grace, shifting from lounge to prairie to canyon and back again with an astonishingly elegant grace. Deep Politics is Grails’ “Unforgiven”, the coda that caps a career. (Richard Allen)

2) Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta ~ Lesson Three: How to Live Without Senses
Self-Released
At some point in time, post-rock was heralded as being the genre without boundaries. Any and everything could be accomplished within it. Artists could tear down conceptions of what could and couldn’t be done and move like chameleons between different forms of music without thinking twice. That was then. Nowadays bands have been reduced to specializing in sub-sub-sub-niches. Many have burrowed deeply within “crescendo-core”. Others have countered by moving into ambient territory. Still others find themselves working in fringe territory with jazz or modern classical sounds. It’s rare that we find bands creating music with completely no adherence to genre forms. Let’s be clear about this: it’s all too often that bands claim to create music in a state isolated from the influence of their peers, but it is frequently revealed that the music is little more than a reaction to how the band thinks people perceive its music. Rarely does the artistic creation actually coincide with its proclaimed raison d’etre. Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta may or may not be a music oddity – a band who truly creates for itself – but Lesson Three sure sounds like no one told the group it had to pick one style of music and stick to it. From track to track, the album moves through the best that post-rock can offer, absolutely ignoring the boundary lines modern artists have imposed and pretending to be one of those early-mid 90s bands who is simply exploring the territory. Everything is fair game; Lesson Three is a triumph. (Jordan Volz)

3) thisquietarmy ~ Vessels
Preview
Between his work with destroyalldreamers, thisquietarmy and Mains de Givre, Eric Quach has proven himself to be a remarkably consistent and prolific artist. But while his music is nearly always good, and often great, he’s thus far lacked a truly exceptional album that would earn him a place among today’s top artists. Vessels comes within millimeters of that distinction. Undoubtedly Quach’s finest work to date, Vessels showcases a musician who remarkably keeps improving. If tracks such as the transcendent “The Pacific Theater” are any indication, Quach isn’t too far away from delivering that truly exceptional album. For now, the latest release is a work of which he ought to be extremely proud; and we, in turn, are extremely grateful. (Tom Butcher)