THE THIRD DAY

North Atlantic Oscillation are a rather interesting band that mix loud and bold Electronic rock with some elements of Prog and Post rock. There is no retro Prog to be found on any of their albums and they like to stay at the more cutting edge of technology in the way they make their music.

Their previous album Fog Electric was a very load and fast paced record with the band almost swamping you with waves of heaves distorted electronic rock. With The Third Day they have quietened their sound quite a lot and focused more on Post Rock and Prog elements which makes this album much more varied than before. When the band was interviewed they said that the start and finish of some of their songs would be very different to the main section of that song. This was done so that the listener would find it harder to know when one song finished and another started, which encourages them to listen to The Third Day as a album rather than a collection of songs.

Personally I'm not very happy with how this artistic choice panned out, as these random changes are usually too short and lacking in depth to be worth listening in their own right and they sometimes jar with the remainder of the song. Fortunately there are quite a number of strong tracks here which make the album worthwhile even if the main gimmick was not a success. "Elsewhere" for example has that classic Post-Rock song structure of starting slowly and becoming a real powerhouse at the end, but their experience in electronic rock give the song a different vibe to that normally done. " Do Something Useful" is one of the rarer times where having 2 very different sections merged together works really well and it is one of the most experimental tracks on the album. There are also some more catchy songs such as the addictive and upbeat instrumental "Penrose" and the moody Alternative rock style "Wires" which will stay in your head for a long time.

Overall this album is quite accessible and is not a very challenging listen, but there are some interesting and original ideas to be found, some which are a success and some not. But credit has to be given to the band for taking risks and mixing up their songwriting method. 3 stars, especially recommended for those who like modern Prog but don't mind it being relatively accessible.

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