MEMORIAL

2013 was a good year for post-rock, at least for me: Although relatively new to the genre (and its relations), Russian Circles was one of the first bands whose output I explored, and I was very happy (along with lots of other people) that the iconic post-rock outfit was releasing a new album.

Memorial does live up to the anticipation. These three guys can churn out wonderfully heavy, complex sounds, and this album does not disappoint. Most of the tracks are satisfyingly kick-ass, chord-driven, melodic, held together by great, intricate drumming. The heavy middle tracks are anchored on both ends by slower, almost acoustic tracks: "Memorial" at the beginning and "Memoriam" at the end, which revisits it but with wispy female vocals deep in the mix for an ethereal wind-up. I have to say it was a bonus to be able to see them produce these sounds live.

I tend to prefer the heavy end of post-rock to the ambient end, and although Russian Circles generally fits nicely there, I found Memorial to have a rather somber, more contemplative feel which makes it just a shade less compelling than I otherwise would have liked. The album manages to avoid the rather too-common sin of being a bit too long or including a track or two that may have been better left off, but the general dark feel drags it down.

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