íForward, Russia! - Life Processes
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Label : Cooking Vinyl
Style : Indie
Grabber: EAC
Encoder: LAME
Quality: VBR/44,1kHz
Reldate: 06.Apr.2008
Street : 14.Apr.2008
Songs : 11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes:
Despite being a cliche of the laziest type, the idea of the
'difficult' second album is one that has endured simply
because so many bands seem to be unable to avoid falling
into its trap. Leeds' íForward Russia! launched themselves
into so many people's hearts two years ago with Give Me A
Wall, an album so tightly coiled that every one of its
enigmatic songs seemed to be bursting under the force of its
own tension. It was a collection of songs defined by the
whip-crack of drummer Katie's snare and hi-hat, which meant
that while it was instantly recognisable as part of the
post-DFA dance/punk buzz it stood out enough for it to be a
still-stunning work that can justifiably be called of the
best debuts of the century so far.
And Life Processes is by no means a sequel; it feels more
like the work of an entirely different band. Where àWall was
concise and focussed this sprawls and swirls, with a new
label (Cooking Vinyl) signifying their break with the past
in the form of no longer working as closely with Dance To
The Radio. Sod Joe's Well, this is a record pitched at
Brixton Academy: every note drips with a laudable ambition
and vision that is lacking in so many bands around nowadays
who simply want to retread some half-arsed scene or exist in
a lineage that immediately bestows upon them some kind of
credibility. And while íFR! aren't wholly successful û Life
Processes is flawed, but agreeably so û at least they're
trying ridiculously hard.
First, the bad news. 'We Are Grey Matter' is symptomatic of
the album as a whole, anchored as it is by a horribly tacky
synth line and a mawkish ôCallà response!ö lyric that is so
poorly executed it's impossible not to question what they
were thinking. Despite the song soon progressing beyond the
aberrant opening into something recognisably íFR! (riffs
that slice over one another in rigid straight lines, Tom's
histrionic, earnest vocals, a real punchy energy), it's not
until 'A Prospector Can Dream' that the album starts to fall
into place. But even this is handicapped by the lyric ôDid
you ever study the Israelites? / They made a new life for
themselves with such a peculiar changeö û is anyone really
going to be able to reply in the affirmative? Again, it's
hugely impressive that they're trying to hard to gain such
an epic scope in their music when, arguably, no one would
have expected them to move in such a direction, but they
fall short of unequivocal success. And 'Fosbury In
Discontent' is a fine attempt at real emotional nakedness,
populated by just Tom and an airy piano that does battle
with the singer for domination of the upper register, but
has none of the raw power or rawness you'd expect from such
a stripped-back song.
But while it undeniably takes a few listens before
everything clicks into place (first-time íFR! listeners will
be able to approach the album quicker û fewer expectations,
y'see), it's the most outwardly inaccessible song that
proves the real gem of the album. 'Spanish Triangles' has
already been unveiled û all nine minutes of it û but it
demonstrates a stunning calmness and fluidity. It builds
slowly, powerfully but effortlessly, growing organically
into itself. It's worth noting that 'Gravity & Heat', for
example, is almost three minutes shorter but feels much
longer û 'Spanish Triangles' is the real culmination of
their work post-àWall and stands as the impressive,
brilliant centrepiece. And 'Don't Reinvent What You Don't
Understand', one of the shortest songs on the album, managed
to move from one-two dance-punk to something undeniably
epic, helped no end by Whiskas' chiming guitars that seem
air-lifted in direct from Explosions In The Sky's Those Who
Tell The Truthà era. And 'Some Buildings' is a three-minute
lament stretched gloriously out for almost seven minutes,
again given the chance to breath and mutate on its own. It
doesn't cut right to the feet like their earlier material
but instead takes up residence in the gut, and by the third
time you hear it all doubts will be blown away.
So it's a second album, and it's certainly difficult. But
it's also an album peppered by moments of brilliance and not
held back by its few brave failures and one that no one can
have reasonably expected the talented quartet to have come
up with. It's not the instant adrenal injection some were
hoping for, but it is certainly more than worth your time.
http://www.myspace.com/forwardrussia
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Track List:
01. Welcome To The Moment (The Rest Of Your Life) 02:17
02. We Are Grey Matter 04:55
03. A Prospector Can Dream 03:21
04. Spring Is A Condition 05:16
05. Don't Reinvent What You Don't Understand 03:40
06. Some Buildings 06:47
07. Breaking Standing 04:16
08. Gravity and Heat 06:03
09. Fosbury In Discontent 03:48
10. A Shadow Is A Shadow Is A Shadow 03:20
11. Spanish Triangles 12:38
-------
Total
56:21 min