post rock
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If our end-years lists contained a section "artwork", this album might just be the absolute winner in 2016. The cover is simply gorgeous, well worth of buying the vinyl and framing the gatefold sleeve. Or at least a tour poster, which brings me to a little festival in the Belgian town of Zottegem, uncoincidentally organized by the exact same people who released this album. Dunk' Festival and Dunk! Records have been spending years of hard work to bring you the very best in post rock and related genres. With this release, they certainly prove their value in this scene.
Pray For Sound is a band from Boston, USA which started out in 2011 as a one-man project by Bruce Mallay. His story is somewhat of a nightmare for musicians. He had been diagnosed with Cholesteatoma (a large cyst is his left ear). Despites doctors' best efforts, Mallay still suffers from hearing loss, tinnitus and recurring pains. However, instead of giving up, Mallay decided to use this ordeal as an inspiration for his music and started translating his emotions in post rock compositions.
The project grew into a band, one which slowly started making a name for themselves. Now, they return with their third full-length, named 'Everything Is Beautiful'. While that might not sound like the truth, it is as far as this album is concerned. This is a classic post rock album with all the highs and lows the genre has to offer. From gentle, calm passages to heavy outbursts of distorted guitars, these tracks have it all. Occasionally, the whole is enhanced with strings, adding a dash of classical beauty to the music.
I can hear influences from bands like Explosions In The Sky, This Will Destroy You and Caspian but also hints of My Bloody Valentine and company. Yet, what I hear most, is deeply personal music from a band that locked themselves up for eight days to record this album. That personal aspect is visible in titles like 'The Ringing In Your Ears', 'I have seen hell and it's white' and 'Congratulations, you're alive'. Each of them is a beautiful piece of work too, although I think my favorite tracks are 'Anything Can Be' and 'Everywhere, Everywhere'.
From the story behind the band and some of these titles, you might expect a depressive sound but that's far from true. Yes, this is a personal album and yes, it's emotional but in its entirety this is an album full of joy, hope and the little delights that make life worth living. For post rock lovers, this is an absolute recommendation. Excellent instrumental storytelling, plenty of variation and an epic sound, what else could you want? Well, I want these guys of Dunk! Festival but until then, I'll just spend some more time in a world where 'Everything Is Beautiful'.
​Serge
Pray For Sound is a band from Boston, USA which started out in 2011 as a one-man project by Bruce Mallay. His story is somewhat of a nightmare for musicians. He had been diagnosed with Cholesteatoma (a large cyst is his left ear). Despites doctors' best efforts, Mallay still suffers from hearing loss, tinnitus and recurring pains. However, instead of giving up, Mallay decided to use this ordeal as an inspiration for his music and started translating his emotions in post rock compositions.
The project grew into a band, one which slowly started making a name for themselves. Now, they return with their third full-length, named 'Everything Is Beautiful'. While that might not sound like the truth, it is as far as this album is concerned. This is a classic post rock album with all the highs and lows the genre has to offer. From gentle, calm passages to heavy outbursts of distorted guitars, these tracks have it all. Occasionally, the whole is enhanced with strings, adding a dash of classical beauty to the music.
I can hear influences from bands like Explosions In The Sky, This Will Destroy You and Caspian but also hints of My Bloody Valentine and company. Yet, what I hear most, is deeply personal music from a band that locked themselves up for eight days to record this album. That personal aspect is visible in titles like 'The Ringing In Your Ears', 'I have seen hell and it's white' and 'Congratulations, you're alive'. Each of them is a beautiful piece of work too, although I think my favorite tracks are 'Anything Can Be' and 'Everywhere, Everywhere'.
From the story behind the band and some of these titles, you might expect a depressive sound but that's far from true. Yes, this is a personal album and yes, it's emotional but in its entirety this is an album full of joy, hope and the little delights that make life worth living. For post rock lovers, this is an absolute recommendation. Excellent instrumental storytelling, plenty of variation and an epic sound, what else could you want? Well, I want these guys of Dunk! Festival but until then, I'll just spend some more time in a world where 'Everything Is Beautiful'.
​Serge