-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Enemies
ALBUM...: Valuables
GENRE...: Rock
STYLE...: Post Rock, Experimental, Math Rock, Pop
YEAR....: 2016
LABEL...: Topshelf
ENCODER.: LAME 3.98.4 -V0
BITRATE.: 244 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 9
SIZE....: 67.88 MB
URL..: http:// http://enemiesmusic.bandcamp.com/music
- TRACKLIST
1 itsallwaves 4:27
2 For Karla 3:17
3 Glow 4:58
4 Houran 5:20
5 Play Fire 4:43
6 Bonopi 1:17
7 Leaves 5:44
8 Don't Go 2:41
9 Phoenix Lights 5:52
Total Playtime: 38:19
As a critic and a consumer, the news of Valuables' impending arrival was both
a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that it would be a new offering from
mathy Irish post-rock darlings Enemies. A curse in that it would be their
last as a group.
As a critic and a consumer, the news of their impending breakup is tough to
take. Previous outing Embark, Embrace, is perhaps one of my favorite albums
of all time. It's a record that delicately balances dark and light sounds
along grooves that manage to both feel natural and sound impressive - both in
technicality and effect. Its chants were infectious; its themes were
masterfully cyclical. The group's incorporation of shimmering, mallet-based
percussion among tremolo driven post-rock structures just made the album even
better.
As a critic and a consumer, it's hard to give that up.
But as a person who has read of the conflict behind the scenes and the
struggle to unify behind one artistic vision and complete a record, you have
to wonder if maybe it's okay to let go. Maybe it's better to let go than to
risk the frienships. Maybe it's better to let go than to risk becoming
something ugly and dysfunctional. Maybe it's better to let go now and to
leave a shining legacy. And if, as a result, we consumers must let go, at
least Enemies have given us something we can put on repeat for years to come.
Following one of its predecessors' apparent mantras, Valuables is an
excessively good option for your preferred media client's repeat
functionality, riding along the same effortless breeze of tremolo, groovy
math, and plenty of bass where beginning flows casually to end and end flows
casually to beginning. Though the ethereal chanting found on the previous
record has evolved into more fully-fleged, airy singing in parts ("Glow") and
that shimmering malleted percussion has given way to hazy electronics that
never quite come to a full drone (except, perhaps, on "Don't Go"), the same
spirit of spritely, rhythmically-driven post-rock that was embodied in
Embark, Embrace inhabits Valuables. It's just a little longer in the tooth
and slower in step at times.
While one need look no further than the upbeat refrain of "Houran" or the
playful warblings and introductory a cappella chanting of "Play Fire" for
evidence of the band's signature swagger, there's an uneasy tension to tracks
like "Leaves" (which would easily fit in on the darker side of Embark,
Embrace a la "Nighthawks"), the densely electronic "Don't Go," and "Phoenix
Lights" that paints a darker cloud over the band's bright horizons. For
better or worse, the album becomes like watching a weather system starting
with the bright skies of "Itsallwaves" and developing into the dark and
thunderous clouds of its final tracks. All only to rain and once again reveal
the sun at the beginning of the album.
While its brighter moments are generally its better moments from my vantage,
it's hard to deny the value and purpose of the storm in such a cycle. And for
a band releasing their final album, developing such beautiful replayability
is one of the sweetest parting gifts to us critics and consumers. Though
Enemies have chosen the valuable things in life instead of forcing themselves
to appease us, they've found a sort of compromise in releasing an album that
will keep us sated for ages, while they can go about taking the steps
necessary to ensure their own personal harmonies. While I'm plenty
disappointed that there won't be another Enemies album on the horizon anytime
soon, I feel that there's something valuable in passing through the moments
and movements before "Itsallwaves" kicks off again.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
*** Props to CaHeSo, awesome Asian Indie/Shoegaze ***
*** And to FANG/HOUND for supporting all the Indie lovers out there ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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