2024-10-07 07:00:38
(c) Civil servants
A relatively new quartet from Manchester are looking for ways to reinvent and reinterpret post-rock. civil servant Of course, they are very familiar with the instrumental conventions, but they don’t attach much importance to them. Wall-of-sound experiments that flirt with prog and shoegaze, edgy vocal samples, grooves and electronic mutations become valuable companions to an immersive musical experience. Not surprisingly, the first album “/// Light” There are huge, very valuable challenges ahead.
The fact that the opening takes nearly a quarter of an hour and begins with a spoken section, a treatise on the stark, often dark contrasts of modern society, fits the picture well. “She never backs down; “The Negativity Just Made Her Stronger” is brisk and powerful at the same time, progressing cautiously towards the climax – of course, the guitar. But what’s the real highlight here? The Brits didn’t give Come out with answers that simply knock a few people out as they can, with small changes and ever-increasing arrangements knowing how to inspire before the massive final act combines the traditional with the postmodern.
There’s a two-part song at the other end of the album: “She Felt The Yawning Skyline” that completely breaks the last boundary. Part one in particular, subtitled “Invisible,” enjoys its electronic throbbing, relying on pulsating neural energy and once again allowing for verbal expression as the rear horizon opens up. On the following “Meaningless,” the bass beat becomes increasingly passionate and spits out its own melody before the lights go out in the surprisingly classic finale. In the struggle against modern communications, blackouts and powerful catharsis, the voice samples from friends and companions, “their lines of communication, cut off” are also worth mentioning.
The service that civil servants provide here requires patience and listening. The iterative, intentional collision of post-rock traditions and conceptual art demands everything in the best possible sense, and pays off handsomely. “///Light” is at least as fond of darkness and philosophical, preferring to build gauze walls that, combined with subtle yet urgent electronic devices, spread pure magic, but can also cause headaches. Long-term arrangements and high standards almost live and breathe in constant conflict. It’s not easy, but it’s really great: Civil Service has put out a difficult and beautiful first album.
Rating: 8/10
Release date: October 4, 2024
Available via: Ripcord Records
website: www.civilserviceband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CivilServiceBand
category: Magazines, reviews
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