Before I get into the review itself I’d like to take a moment to say this artist’s music pertains to a genre we’ve never explored before. His work falls into the genres of post-rock, shoegaze, and avant-garde. If you’re familiar with these you can skip over to the review. If not, read on and I’ll break down the fancy pants terms for you.
First, post-rock. Wikipedia says “Post-rock is a musical genre characterized by the use of instruments commonly associated with rock music, but using rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbres, and chord progressions not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock musicians typically produce instrumental music”. In other words, post-rock uses the same tools of the trade as the rock musicians we all know and love, but unconventionally. There are no riffs, no “in your face” sounds (as I like to call it). It’s minimalist and experimental. Iceland boasts a large post-rock scene, consisting of epic bands like Sigur Rós.
Shoegaze, also known as shoegazing, is an alternative rock subgenre coming from England. It often consists of distortion of sounds. The name comes from the somber stage performances where artists would typically look downwards at their feet while they played. When electronic elements were added to it, it helped create post-rock (a descendent of shoegaze). One of the most respected bands in the field is My Bloody Valentine, but my favorite happens to be the shoegaze/dream pop crossover group Asobi Seksu. Silversun Pickups aren’t typically labeled as shoegaze, though there are shoegaze influences in their music.
Lastly, avant-garde is more or less an adjective than a genre. There are of variety of “avant-garde” genres, including avant-garde metal, avant-rock, and avant-garde jazz. The same simply means different, or ahead of its time. A trendsetter. It comes from the French term used for soldiers meaning “advancing guard”, or soldiers who would stand in front of a battalion. The term is also used to describe visual art, movies, a literary movement, and even politics.
So hopefully you guys are a little more prepared for what’s ahead! Ready for it? Buckle up! Introducing mobdividual’s 8 track EP, A Year From Monday.
Track One- a () is like an instrument (Light some candles, ‘cause this is the “mood setter”)
Yes, that is the song title. All of them flow together to form a complete sentence, one of the many reasons I love this EP. Anyway, the song itself is relatively short. It opens with a slow, somewhat melancholy blend of instruments artistically implementing dissonance. While it may not be captivating to a general audience it does set the mood for the rest of the EP, so anyone looking for something slow and lovely knows they need not look further.
Track Two- it has to absorb all the positive influences, (The trip eastward)
This song is a direct continuation of the last; in fact the whole album flows together, similar to the song title. This piece is fairly consistent in the arrangement and even uses a bit of a “twang” sound you’d expect from bluegrass and country music. About 2/3rds of the way through I swear I heard some East Asian influence, but that’s probably just me. Either way it does have that ambient, new age vibe that we hear in more contemporary uses of traditional Asian instruments, like in music used for meditation.
Track Three- intercept all the negative influences (It starts to come full circle)
This one also picks up from the last track but begins to fade out into distortion, sort of resembling a CD skipping. I think it’s pretty nifty sounding, to be honest. Using dissonance and distortions tastefully and creatively isn’t very easy, since those words (by dictionary definition) mean harsh sounding (dissonance) and altered (distortions). It perfectly reflects the title, however, slightly turning this into a concept album without words. I give mobdividual mad props for proper use of the song reflecting the title (and vice versa), and also for his use of dissonance and distortions.
Track Four- that might affect people… (For unto us a synth is born)
WHOA HARSHNESS. By now you get that this whole album is basically one piece broken up into multiple tracks so no one should be shocked that it picks up from the third track. You might be a little surprised by how it begins however, because the distortions sound like they’ve taken steroids. They rev up, and melt back into the slower melody we heard in the very beginning in track one. Slightly beyond the halfway mark the backdrop sounds like a New England drizzle. A synth is brought into the equation, adding to the complex and artistic blend of seemingly random sounds and instruments. However this piece is not in any way more “electronic” than the others as the use of the synth is brief and fleeting, however it is not overshadowed by the more consistent instruments. It adds an element of fun to the piece, livening it up in a way we had yet to hear from the previous songs.
Track Five- a () cannot do (Use your inside voices, children)
The distortions commence, this time sounding more like white noise, and we are drawn back in by the previous arrangement. The distortions remain as a backdrop, and at one point the two seem to carry out a musical conversation if you will. The whole song seems to be a decrescendo (naturally losing volume) near the end, which seems odd seeing as the EP is one piece split up into eight tracks. Remember learning about the technique of foreshadowing in English class? That’s what this track seems to be doing, as if ending to start a whole new piece altogether.
Track Six- unless it is treated with the same finesse (The favie)
The decrescendo continues on until it almost stops altogether, and we are greeted by a pizzicato. It’s repetitive, but not in any way boring, rather soothing. The twangs return and almost seem to be calling out. The emotion this one is giving me is a sense of longing. Because this is rather short, like the rest of the tracks, there isn’t much else to say about this piece except that so far it stands out as the most emotional of the tracks. The predecessors had an aggressive vibe with the distortions but this is the only track that has spoken to me as if it’s trying to relay some spiritual message by instilling a feeling in me. Thus it is my favorite.
Track Seven- as the environment is stands in.” (Loop, there it is!)
The shortest track of all (only 43 seconds), it ends with a looping that came out of NOWHERE. And Juno loves surprises. The majority of the track is a repeating chord which nicely wraps up the transitions from the use of distortions earlier on to the implementation of ambience of relaxation.
Track Eight- alvar aalto (Finé)
It wraps up with a track named after the author of the quote that the previous song titles derive from. It’s one of the more musical pieces and perhaps the most radio friendly (his website states this has “single potential”, and I couldn’t agree more). This song is very reminiscent of the softer side of shoegaze, which we see in more modern genres like twee (slightly similar sounding to indie/folk/lo-fi). It ends with an atmospheric fadeout, staunchly different than the way the EP greeted us. While it didn’t go out with a bang per se, it certainly went out in style.
Sounds Like- Something you’ve probably never heard before. Seriously, the genres mobdividual dabbles in are underrated, and while they have a substantial underground following and going mainstream would destroy it, it does deserve a bit more recognition. This is the sort of thing I’d expect on a soundtrack for a noir film.
Should Open For- Asobi Seksu, My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai
Overall Score- I will give this pupil of music a gold star for both his effort and achievement.
~Juno
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