Mt. Recorded over the course of six days at Brickyard Studios, the highly anticipated Lethologica begins as it ends, with some gorgeous electronic ambience, but the rest of the album sticks to the staple of guitars, drums and bass, layered together to produce a much bigger sound. Mt. sounds like the work of more than three people, such are the subtle nuances involved in each track. Those loyal readers of The Silent Ballet will already be familiar with the first ‘proper’ track on the album ‘Add Obvious Errors’, as it is featured on our free compilation, and what a delightful track it is. Starting off slowly, it rises in tempo, throws in a couple of time changes, before building towards a climax that will touch the deepest regions of your heart. ‘Between Now, and Then’ adds some vocals into the mix, something that doesn’t quite feel right on the album, given that Mt. is so adept at the instrumental side of things. The vocals itself are short, but they’re not nearly powerful enough to add anything to the song (it’s worth noting that Ben was ill during the recording of the vocals), although the dual girl/boy harmonies that take over towards the end do give the track a new depth. The quiet/loud dynamic that was heavily prevalent in the days of ctrlaltdelete still exists in Mt., but it has been used sparingly, given the louder moments an extra edge and focus. Both ‘Decline Into Shadows’ and ‘Too Many Escape Darwin’s’ have this effect, with the former sounding like a less brooding Mono, containing a breakdown not dissimilar to ‘Yearning’, before bursting into a distortion tinged finale. The latter track layers various guitar melodies together, offering glimpses of Molia Falls and even American Football, before culminating into a riff similar to something We Followed Tigers would use. Mt. has created a solid album in Lethologica, but you can’t help but feel that is has more to offer. Over the seven tracks and forty seven minutes there’s a distinct impression that Mt. is holding something back; it could produce so much more given the clear talent that is on display throughout this album. Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh for a band's first full length release, but that’s only because the potential is there to offer something greater, none more so than on ‘Words and Coffee’. It’s by far the heaviest track on the album, and builds a brooding riff into chugging distortion, complete with jazz drum breakdowns, but it never quite morphs into the Mogwai-esque beast it threatens to, ending far too abruptly. The album climaxes with ‘Sense of Wonder Still Intact’, the longest track on the album at nearly twelve minutes, it takes the listener on a journey of numerous rises, high and lows, lost loves and journeys through the English countryside, and ends with beautiful nostalgia inducing ambience. Lethologica is packed full of these moments of beauty, but still manages to embrace complexity and, most importantly, keeps a friendly face on the music and remains listenable. The complexity isn’t on the scale of Dysrhythmia, and doesn’t try to be, it’s more in the arrangement of the tracks, the subtle double tracked guitars, the slight drum changes, that makes Lethologica an adroit collection of tracks, with something to offer for most post-rock fans. -James Ould Score: 8/10 |
