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Do Make Say Think
You, You're History in Rust
Constellation
The last few post-rock releases to cross my review pile have been predominantly mellow affairs, where the bands choose to act as mood enablers for low-key moments. In this light, Do Make Say Think's newest album comes as a blast of kinetic energy, reminding me that the genre is post-rock after all.
You, You're History in Rust begins with "Bound to Be That Way," a track that unfurls slowly with ringing soft-edged chords before hitting it's stride with thunderous, frenetic drumming and slippery guitar riffs that cascade in all directions like rain rolling down a windowpane. At seven minutes, the group squeezes fiery bursts in between slow-motion pockets of silence building tension and release completely organically.
"A With Living" sees this growth continue with guest vocals quietly leading the music in a slow coalescence into an Arcade Fire-esque number that flickers with campfire-light intensity. The steady bloom of pleading choir voices cuts through the insistent guitar strums and eventually gives way to a pastoral horn section dripping with a spring night's dew. "The Universe!" is relentlessly hard-charging and saturated with distorted guitars and a driving rhythm section pounding away at anything remotely sounding like a melody. The ebb and flow between excited and relaxed on this album is something of a marvel. The joyous cacophony of the more unhinged moments perfectly compliment the restrained intimacy of when the band pulls back --as on the rural treatment "A Tender History in Rust" gets through acoustic guitar, melodica and whistling-- it's like a testament to impulsive youth and heady optimism and the drunk summer dusks and early morning hangovers to come.
