LEAVING YOUR BODY MAP

The companion album of Bath, Leaving Your Body Map is the culmination of maudlin of the Well's avant-garde mix of multiple styles in a metal framework that was started on my Fruit Psychobells... a Seed Combustible (which itself was the culmination of years of work), and in itself attains a near musical perfection. In my review of Bath, the companion album of Leaving Your Body Map, I said that listening to it takes me to a place that leaves me completely immersed in the music, and the same applies here. However, this time there is no unfortunate inclusions of old materiel that wasn't re-recorded to break the flow and the result is perfection. Musically the album has many moments that just blows me away, whether its the incredible bass melody/rhythm of Gleam in Ranks, any of the highly impressive guitar solos, the ominous use of wind instruments (wood and brass) or the sheer beauty of the acoustic parts, its a ride from start to finish. If there's one complaint that I can think of (and I'm getting pedantic here) its that Maria-Stella Fountoulakis is slightly under-used on this album, but I'll let it pass as there is only a small number of parts that she could have been in that she wasn't. A highly diverse, mature album that demonstrates impressive compositional skills dedicated to creating a mood, this is one of the greatest albums I have ever heard, an absolute must.