HORIZONS / RAPTURE

Hailing from Brighton (in this day and age, I'm unsurprised that I had no idea, not that it matters), this is The Physics House Band's 2013 debut album, released just prior to my broader awareness of this side of modern Prog Rock (bands like Monobody, or, significantly enough later for me, The Most). These bands have a full awareness of the Indie-borne Math Rock idiom that, by 2010, was in full swing as its own popular music genre; but these also have consistently a firmer knack at Progressive compositions and interest, as well as light-to-strong Jazz affectations.

Starting off the whole affair is the forward-driving, glimmering "Obeliskmonolith". As with their album art, this one bearing such a striking image that's difficult to forget, their song titles, too, have a certain kind of air. Listening to it now, perhaps again, it causes me to wonder if this is nearly the title track.

"Abraxical Solapse" is a much more confident, much more progressive number, at times calling to mind bands like The Mars Volta, their influence undeniable at this time, but also groups like Giraffes? Giraffes! or Tera Melos. I would assume, also, that artists like Zach Hill (Death Grips, Hella) had a much larger effect on these guys than I would have known back when I was first hearing this album.

Up next is the spacy, psychedelic glint of "Hollow Mountain", absolutely beautiful in texture and space, it actually weirdly calls to mind early-70s Pink Floyd. An apparent sister song is "Teratology", coming off the wavering, spacious key padding building to a guitar-driven field, with excellent, tasty bass and cool, grooving drums. It builds and builds and the use of various effects really catches the ear. Harsh loops and echoing and reverb once more calls to mind Mars Volta (in the absolute best way possible; not a mimicry). All the while, given this specific comparison, The Physics House Band is and was innately instrumental--thank God it doesn't give way to the pitfalls of Post-Rock boredom. This is the first track that really makes me think of the genre at all, as we find them here exploring various textures and effects over, until the very end, the same sort of theme.

Next, we have potential then almost certain piano balladry on the just-over-a-minute "The Spectral Beyond", a simple, single-sided interlude. It then gives way to our album closer, the lofty, driving "Titan". A second moment throughout the album that actually (once unspoken) reminds me in melodic bass-playing of Geddy Lee. This is a bright track, with a soft, but gleaming arpeggio over their wild rhythm section. A certain showcase, here, of the drummer's ability. This could appeal, in compositional knack, to the Steven Wilson world of modern Prog (post-modern Prog?). Strong ending, but notably quick and sudden, really.