DO MAKE SAY THINK

The art of the build-up, and the outro.

This is DMST's most musical of their first six albums. While their other albums mixed a bunch of different styles, but usually with a few great longer signature pieces, this albums only contains four signature pieces, and no filler. While feeling loose and improvised, each of the four tunes has a definite structure. The first three compositions are crafted to build up from an in auspicious beginning to a rapturous emotional peak. This build up is accompanied by the addition of horns (saxes and trumpets, as well as violin) and the occasional rag-tag choir. However, what makes each of these tracks so musical is that they also have mastered the art of the outro. This is a stumbling block for many bands - they build up to the peak, but then what? Most often, the peak IS the end, and this is even true on some early DMST albums. But here, there are a good three minutes of excellent music after the peak, putting excellent use to the brass, guitar distortion and other effects. Indeed, I think the outros here compete with the build-ups in terms of musicality. The weakest parts of each song is actually the beginning. The second track ('Make' - each of the four songs is a word from the band's name), in particular, starts with a musically-weak theme played on bass and drums (the only musically-weak spot on the album), but this gets parlayed into a fantastic additional 11 minutes of music with a beautiful brass-section theme after the peak. The first track ('Do') is structured around an electric-guitar theme, not too dissimilar in sound to the highly-respected first track ('When the Day Chokes the Night') on their second album, Goodbye Enemy Airship - The Landlord is Dead. The song builds up over its 10 minutes to this laddered bass-line theme over which horns are added, distorting creatively into a wall of sound that slowly evolves in very musical fashion until it doesn't. The third track ('Say') is probably the most musical here, though. Morphing between three different themes, but always very compelling, it displays a bit of math-rock before succumbing to majestic horns and distorted guitar washes. The outro again is fantastic. The only piece here that doesn't conform to a similar structure is the last tune ('Think'). Instead, this is a very melancholy tune based around an electric-guitar theme and very similar sonically to a number of tunes from their earlier albums, except that this one is dripping in emotion. Really, it should have been called 'So Long' - it feels so much like goodbye letter, and indeed this was the last thing the band recorded before their long hiatus (for 8 years). This last track doesn't build - instead it just fades out. On the whole, a coherent musical album, and one that I am often drawn to listen to. I give this 8.4 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 4 PA stars.

Continuing the Good Vibe.

'Rust' gives us eight tracks of which six were recorded at family cottages and barns. This perhaps explains the general (but not ubiquitous) laid back and unpretentious feel of this album, which generally continues the good vibe set by 'Country Hymn'. There is more acoustic guitar on this album, and also more horn parts (and violin, vibes and marimba - they have multiple guests) than on previous albums. "Bound to be that way', the first tune (after it decides which theme it wants to present) eventually gets to a lovely acoustic-guitar theme that drives the music. Likewise, the fourth track ('A Tender History in Rust'), starts with a beautiful drone-improv before evolving around a wonderful acoustic-guitar driven theme. 'Herstory of Glory' also is structured around an acoustic-guitar theme for much of its first half, while the second more-electric half is totally uplifted by the presence of the violin. Meanwhile, this album presents perhaps the first recorded DMST lyrics, sung by a campfire-like choir on the 9-minute 'A With Living', which is largely successful and features a great multi-horn theme. 'The Universal' is the one loud and brash tune here, with fast playing and another great repeated theme played by the horns/other guests. 'You, You're Awesome' is a slower electric heartstring puller, with a very nice emotional horn-section overlay which would have made a great close to the album if it had been extended a bit more. The last two tracks are both great too, although these ones were recorded later, in the studio, and to be honest, they feel less laid back. 'Executioner Blues' feels a bit rushed, actually, with more dissonance and schizo-guitars that seem to want to jump the beat at times. although it is the one that starts and ends with the sound of crickets. The closing track, 'In Mind', is another acoustic-structured number which sounds like it could have been recorded at the cottage, with a repeated 1-4 chord progression throughout and some banjo sounds, eventually blossoming into a full vocal onslaught with more lyrics. On the whole, there are no bad tunes on this album, and each one keeps its own musical identity. It is difficult to pick favourites, as the quality is generally high, yet there is no tune that really stands out as being extraordinarily musical (well, perhaps 'A Tender History of Rust'). I give this album 7.8 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which is just 0.1 short of 4 PA stars.

Good Vibe.

My own feeling is that DMST grew in some way with each release. Despite the dark and scary cover to this album, this album (at least for me) actually has quite a feel-good vibe to it, even when it veers into dark territory there seems to be a theme of light over-taking darkness here, or something. This is set right away with the first track ("Frederica"), which begins with a life-affirming guitar line and amazing (yes!) jazzy drumming. While the song builds it veers into dark distorted sections, but the nice life-affirming theme comes back at the end. Awesome song. Other great tracks include "107 Reasons Why" with its trumpet chordal background, both melancholy and uplifting; "Ontario Plates" which builds on a guitar line but with trumpets to produce a fantastic uplifting theme; and the closer "Hooray, Hooray" which mixes acoustic guitar, trumpet lines, cheesy synths, and street noises to produce a pensive tune that evolves into a theme that feels like a force for good. Other tracks on this album are more experimental, whether violin through echo ("War on Want"), more standard post-rock beats ("Horns of a Rabbit"), not-sure-what ("It's Gonna Rain"). The remaining longer tracks ("Auberge le Mouton Noir" and "Outer, Inner, and Secret") are good although perhaps not quite as successful. But on the whole, a good vibe with some excellent innovative (all-)instrumental music that manages somehow to be quite emotional. On balance, I give this album 7.5 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which is the same rating I gave to "Goobye Enemy Airship...". I actually find myself putting this one on more often.

From Sleepy to Lovely.

This album largely keeps to the compositional styles set by their second album ("Goodbye Enemy Airship..."), but without any obvious killer tracks like they had on that album. The songs on this album actually have a bit more obvious structure, and each tune usually has a few different sections that it moves through, which shows some positive evolution. The guitars and trumpet (when present) once again steal the show from the synth, and there is some great jazzy drumming in here too. One thing I notice about this album which probably keeps down its ratings vis a vis their other albums (like "Goodbye...") is that the best tracks are found at the end of the CD, while the weaker tracks appear in the first half. While I like the first two tracks, I have to admit they cannot compare with the best on "Goodbye", and the middle two tracks are quite weak (particularly "Chinatown", which is basically just a synth wash). So, I could imagine some reviewers making up their minds from the first half and perhaps not really listening to the later tracks. For me each of the last three tracks is wonderful, and they largely presage the music that would be made on their later albums. "Reitschule" is full of jazzy drumming, great bass grooves, and wonderful trumpet chordal build-up from Charles Spearin. A really lovely song, and my favourite on this album. "Soul and Onward" has another then-first for the band, a make-shift choir, which along with the horns (including sax) produces a wonderful atmosphere as the track builds. The closer, "Anything for Now", is structured around a very nice nostalgia-feeling inducing guitar-chord pattern that builds with trumpets and the like for the first half, and then fades into a synth drone over which a collage of sounds (backwards acoustic guitars?) builds, ending the album on another satisfying albeit sleepy note. On balance, I give this album 6.8 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to mid 3 PA stars. If you, like me, really like "Other Truths", then you will like the last three tunes here.

A Winner.

After the sleepy hardly-there almost missing-in-action first album, DMST made one of their better albums. This album is much more punchy and memorable, although most of it is actually quite sleepy too. It puts its best track first, the wonderful "When Day Chokes the Night", starting from a repeated guitar-chord that makes me think of Crimson that suddenly breaks into dual drummers to which guitars and horns get added in a great orgasmic build-up. Terrific track. The remaining tracks harken back a bit more to the pattern set by the first album, but here almost to the one, they involve the setting of a good groove and/or a sufficiently interesting guitar-based chord progression that keeps the music from fading into thin air like the first album. Also, this album has horns, with Charles Spearin's trumpet in particular adding the diversity necessary to maintain interest, particularly on those synth-wash sections that otherwise would just sit there. Indeed, the songs are much more dynamic here than on the first album, building from very quiet to very loud, and the guitar and bass play a greater role (and the synth a lesser). In addition to the opener, the best tunes are the ones reflected in the album title, track 3 "The Landlord is Dead" and the last track "Goodbye Enemy Airship". The weaker tracks, which also happen to be most similar to those on the first album, are track 4 "The Apartment Song" and track 5 "All of This is True". Personally, I don't think this is the best DMST album (my favourite is Other Truths). But I can see why reviewers like this album so much, likely in part because of the very strong first track, and the great closer which leaves a good taste in the listener's mouth/ear. I give this album 7.5 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to high 3 PA stars.

Sleepy and Light. Zen?

This is a bit of an odd choice for a debut. Usually, one would try to make a strong statement with their first album, to catch people's attention and fashion a clear and distinct sound. This is often seen in the music industry as necessary in order that there will be sufficient interest in a band's follow-up album and concerts. But Do Make Say Think (DMST) here seem to be taking an opposite approach, or perhaps are setting themselves up as the anti-thesis to the standard music industry, or something. Each song here is quiet, repetitive and sleepy, with little to grab one's imagination. Instead, it almost seems designed to put the listener to sleep. The best tracks, like the opener "1978", "If I Only", and "Dr. Hooch", establish a nice groove with the bass and drums, and keep it going with some ethereal guitar and synth noodling over top (but, notably, not solos - this band likes to avoid any solos, perhaps in keeping with some post-rock creed?). The weaker tracks (like "Le'espalace", "Highway 420", and "Disco and Haze") do the same, but without the nice groove. When the album is at its best, it makes me think of Miles "In A Silent Way", which is a compliment. But a number (over half) of the tracks just wander aimlessly. This is the DMST album with the most synth on it, and it doesn't always work. The last track ("The Fare to Get There") is quite long, over 19 minutes. Of this, the first five minutes involve a very slow synth-flute meditation, which then evolves into a very slow drums and guitar sortof-groove (a straight slow four/four), built on a single chord that builds louder very slowly and repetitively over about five minutes, after which it fades even more slowly over the last 9 minutes. When I listen to this album, I can't help but think of a line from the live show in Frank Zappa's "Roxy and Elsewhere", where Frank (reflecting on other lines being improved by Jeff Simmons and Napolean Murphy-Brock) says "A true Zen saying: 'Nothing Is What I Want' ". Well, the album is not 'nothing', there is some creativity and there are at minimum three good tracks here. But the album seems to have that "nothing is what I want" ethos to it. If only there were some solos, some variety, something to maintain interest. But I do find this great when I need to fall asleep. I give this 4.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 2 PA stars. I would pick this up only after you get into (most of) the other DMST albums.

It would make for a delightful conversation to wonder aloud about Do Make Say Think's fortunes when they dropped this, their best album. Did coming out in post-rock's golden age, alongside Godspeed, Mogwai, Tortoise, and Explosions In The Sky's great works, hinder the band's chances of getting more widely noticed, or did they just miss a good chance? Or neither? In any case, looking back now we can dig up this lost gem and enjoy it for what it is, and maybe even for what it could have been. Unique to Think's style is a particular love for more spirited, energetic sections - and so this album could be said to be the post-rock opus for those who think most post is a slog. It doesn't feel wrong to say this is as much a fun listen as it is a relaxing and beautiful one. The sound is also oriented towards guitars and horns, augmented by some well used and well played drums. This sometimes feels like Neutral Milk Hotel on post. And, all in all, the musicianship on the record is altogether great enough to take their sound and make it in its best moments more than half as epic as Godspeed's greatest moments, and that, as postheads should know, is saying quite a lot. See that in effect in the climactic portion of "The Landlord is Dead" and be amazed. Much as it might be prudent to round this album down, the spirit and epic qualities of this work deserve top marks. Check it out.

Do Make Say Think tend to be overshadowed a lot by their fellow Canadian post-rockers in Godspeed You Black Emperor (and its many any varied side projects such as A Silver Mt Zion), and to be honest, whilst I've enjoyed some of their albums efforts like You, You're a History In Rust don't really thrill me. Playing in a jazzier style than Godspeed but with the same lo-fi, threadbare aesthetic, the band play a bit more loosely and freely, with less structure, and also tend to meander a little more. With a bit more focus, they can do well, as can be heard on the earlier album Goodbye Enemy Airship, but here they just sound like lukewarm post-rock dabblers.

Do Make Say Think play a style of post-rock somewhere between that of Tortoise and their Constellation stablemates in Godspeed You Black Emperor. Like Godspeed, they embrace a "found audio" aesthetic wherein some of the music is derived from field recordings (or recordings deliberately designed to sound like field recoridngs), but they also include more complex, jazzy playing reminiscent of Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die album. Goodbye Enemy Airship is therefore an album which bridges the gap between two differing schools of post-rock, and will be of interest to most fans of the genre, particularly those fond of the Constellation stable's DIY aesthetic.

The fourth album from this Toronto band but the first I have heard in full, only hearing a couple of songs from other albums. Supposedly these guys were influenced by Tortoise, but they generally sound like a happier version of fellow Canadians GYBE and A Silver Mt Zion. DMST use the typical guitars-bass-drums but also make good use of keyboards and trumpet as well.

You can listen to the first song "Frederica" here on PA. It's the stand out song, not that the other songs are no good, just not as good as this is. This has a really nice bass sound at first, it sounds acoustic but I don't think it is. Guitars play repeated melodies until about 1 1/2 minutes, then some jazzy drumming comes in and everything else resumes again. Later the bassline and guitar playing changes but the drums stay the same...actually getting faster. Some wind or string instrument (possibly altered) sounds start to dominate. After 6 minutes is a really cool distorted bass sound, I love how the music builds towards a crescendo here. The whole song mellows out for awhile and gets more loose. Eventually it builds up to another crescendo with more distorted bass. The opening guitar melodies are reprised at the end.

"Auberge le Mouton Noir" has an interesting waltz-type rhythm along with a marching snare. Very typical post-rock guitar playing. In the middle gets a more punk style beat before switching to a more jazzy style. Cool sounds from some altered instrument before 5 minutes. "Outer, Inner & Secret" starts off with some light jazzy drums. A walking bassline, some minimalistic guitars and some atmospheric keyboard sounds. Starting around 4 minutes several cresendos are built up but don't reach their climax. Great drumming after 5 minutes. Some GYBE like guitar sounds for awhile. More false crescendos at the end.

"Ontario Plates" is a jazzy song with some nice trumpet. Gets more folky and electronic about halfway. Ends very celebratory sounding. "Horns Of A Rabbit" is a stand out track. Love the synth bass sound here. Great Radiohead style drumbeat. Some good melodic guitar in places. Over halfway gets more energenic. I love the synth sounds at the beginning of "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" All the other instruments are loose and random until acoustic guitar comes in. The music keeps stopping then resuming. After 3 minutes goes into a great country sounding part (post-country?). Lots of synth effects and twangy guitar. Some "ahh" type harmony vocals later before the drummer puts emphasis on the bass drum. More country style guitar.

Throughout the album you hear synthetic raindrop sounds at the end and beginning of most songs. These guys are usually instrumental. Nothing totally original but enjoyable nonetheless. I don't think they have any real weak moments, just that their strongest moments are few and far between. I would rate this 3.5 but I'll bump it up to 4 stars.