YOU ARE THE CONDUCTOR

This 2015 was a prolific year regarding post-rock, a year in which I managed to discover dozens of bands that had been on the road for some years but had not been on my scope; one of those bands was Caspian, who released their latest album this year, an album that was even selected as the best post-rock album of 2015 in some sites. But well, right now I will not write about that album, but about the roots of Caspian, this band from Massachusetts whose first steps take us back to 2004, and whose first release takes us to 2005 when You Are the Conductor saw the light.

Of course, with the great demand of artists in this post-rock genre, it is not easy to be a highlight band, though honestly I don't really know any weak post-rock band, because I think they always have something good to offer, and Caspian is not the exception. This debut EP from the quartet offers almost half an hour of great music that covers the light and the heavy sides of post-rock, both sides with that obvious emotional feeling. It opens with 'Quovis' which is a shorte one-minute track whose heavy sound leads us to 'Further Up', a song that brings beauty and a smile to our face with those great guitars. Then the song progresses, builds up a structure and becomes more emotional. Wonderful!

'Further in' has a lot of energy on it, and I love that no matter that energy they introduce a soft and delicate glockenspiel sound that brings tenderness and beauty. The guitar work is amazing, emotional to death. 'Loft' is another wonderful song, full of changes in mood and tempo, full of colors and textures, a song that is easy to enjoy and like, a carousel of sounds and emotions.

What I love the most of this release is that it perfectly flows, I mean, there are no stops so when you don't expect, you are already listening to a new track. 'For Protection' starts truly soft, it is very melancholic, introspective, and even sad. The last song is the longest one and it is entitled 'Last Rites'. Here, Caspian delights us with almost ten minutes of first- class post rock that fulfills our souls with those changes, those emotions and all the images the music produces. Of course, this is also an example of progressive rock, not at its purest, but in one of its (controversial, I know) subgenres. A great introductory release from Caspian, a band whose music is truly great, believe me. Their studio albums can tell it, so go and listen to them. My final grade will be 3 solid stars.

Enjoy it!