SET FIRE TO FLAMES

Now, while some may find two discs of electronic-y post-rock too much, I definitely am a fan and it captivates me through both discs. It switches genres fairly randomly which I think keeps the listener on their toes, from emotional post-rock moments, to bleak atmospherics, to jazz-rock-ish jams, the record is pretty amazing.

It's only flaws are the few moments it gets too repetitive and that is not often. Much of the time it seems this is the post-rock that would appeal to prog fans the most, complicated and varied.

Album cover is excellent and the song titles are creative as well. Put with some great music, what's there not to like?

4 stars for being pretty dang awesome.

Still loaded with doom and gloom and clearly alluding to heavy drugs descend into hell (through prostitution and slow body deperishment and the whole shebang) and unlike GYBE!'s usual albums, the message is loud and clear. However, this doesn't stop Aidan and the gang from relying on the old and tried recipes, which means that this sounds like the same old soup being reheated. They even fall into the pit of these long monologues (which plague GYBE!'s works) and make this album relatively difficult for repeated listens, not that you'd really want to spin this album regularly.

These guys remind me most of Fly Pan Am, another sort of Godspeed offshoot that practiced the same type of sonic sculpting of fuzz, feedback, haphazard crescendos, and violent strings. But both of these bands seem to revel in either twisting around easily recognizable Menuck arrangements, or simply scratching out some mildly interesting riff and then repeating it ad nausea. This just doesn’t capture the imagination and hold it like Menuck’s work tends to do.

Not to say there aren’t a few interesting tracks – with seventeen to choose from on this two-disc set, there was bound to be something worth listening to. “Buzz of Barn Flies like Faulty Electronics” is a kind of electronic/feedback/free form jazz on acid kind of thing that is actually quite original, although never really picks up any kind of steam. And the one immediately following it (“And The Birds Are About To Bust Their Guts With Singing”) sounds an awful lot like some of A Silver Mt Zion’s instrumental works, which is a compliment as far as I’m concerned.

And on the ‘Telegraphs in Negative’ disc “When Sorrow Shoots Her Darts” is a sonic delight with lots of tension and discordant strings that keeps a decent pace. But that is really the only mildly interesting track on that whole disk – the rest is a combination of barely perceptible strings, percussion, and rambling spoken-word tracks.

This is one of those albums where I am glad I got a chance to hear it before spending my own money, because it’s doubtful I will ever do so now. Hard-core post-rock fans may find this somewhat interesting, but for me it was a pretty boring way to spend an hour and a half of my life. Two stars, and not much more.

peace

And that shouldn’t be surprising since about half the group was made up of Godspeed members, including mixmaster/guitarists Michael Moya and Roger Tellier-Craig; percussionists Bruce Cawdron and Fluffy Erskine; and the string section from the first two Godspeed albums as well as inaugural A Silver Mt. Zion members Beck Foon and Sophie Trudeau.

In addition to the street sounds, the recordings included a number of other environmental noises from the apartment surroundings including creaking doors and steps; voices of people coming in and out of the building; and cars moving about nearby.

The overall sound is not totally unlike that of Godspeed’s 1999 EP ‘Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada’, but in the case of Set Fire to Flames there aren’t really any slowly building crescendos or long cacophonic explosions of instrumental sound to speak of. Instead the musicians recorded about a dozen hours of noise, music, and improvisational noodling and patched it together in a collection of fifteen titled tracks, some of which sort of resemble songs. They’re really more like little mood pieces meant to evoke emotions or simply to invite thoughtful reflection. Or maybe they’re simply a form of head candy to accompany listeners during their own physical/mental deprivation experiences. Who knows.

The more interesting tracks include the eerie and almost ambient “Omaha”; “Cote d'Abrahms Roomtone / 'What's Going On?...' (From Lips of Lying Dying Wonder Body #3)” with its “Several Species of Small Furry Animals…” like electronic noises and rambling recorded voices; and the heavily acoustic and hopeful-sounding “Injur: Gutted Two-Track...”.

But the real gem in this collection is the ten-minute slowly-building “Jesus/Pop...”, which is not only the most cohesive track on the album, but also the closest thing to a Godspeed work as you’re likely to hear anywhere outside of that band’s own four albums. And speaking of Godspeed, there are many snippets of strings, guitar, and percussion sprinkled throughout the album that can be traced back to the first two Godspeed albums if one felt the urge to pick through and identify them. Again, not surprising considering that except for Efrim Menuck, most of the key players from that band appear here as well.

The thing I like best about this album is that it incorporates the best of the eclectic and disturbing instrumental experimentation found with Godspeed, but at the same time avoids the rather predictable slow-intro/street-sounds/crescendo/explosion/fade pattern that Godspeed slipped into on all three of their full-length albums. In that respect this is a lot more experimental and adventurous, much like several of the A Silver Mt. Zion albums of the last few years.

This music isn’t for everyone, not even for all fans of experimental or post-rock music. If you are a bit of a stoner, you’ll undoubtedly find this album to be a stimulating sensory experience. Likewise if you’re just bored with predictable progressive music and are looking for something new that stretches the boundaries. For adventurous souls like these, this is a highly recommended work, and a four star experience.

peace

In Sings Reign Rebuilder we can hear a more consistent and coherent work than in their second release, could we labeled as depressing heart rendering In some moments but its more than that, its hopeful and fascinating , and we have some really interesting pieces like "Steal Compass", "Omaha", "Vienna Arcweld", "Shit-Heap-Gloria Of The New Town Planning" and others (all instrumental); I could say that there's no filler or disappointing parts here. Because this is a experimental work could be difficult in the first listens to get the idea about what they were are trying to say with this record. So be patient because its something like you probably never heard before. It's a free will work of art, because they don't have any intension to be commercially successful, its just about music.

Comparing their sound with Godspeed and others its comprehensible, but this is new and refreshing for the post rock/experimental genre, because many of the "new" post rock bands just repeat the same formula and don't contribute whit anything new.

Son if you are really open minded and want to try something really new, try Sings Reign Rebuilder, It will make you think about some serious #@*4 . Totally recommended. 4.5 stars.

BAMBA. Landaus Gomez