This is instrumental post rock band Pray for Sound’s fourth album release. Each of their albums so far has explored a different concept and mood. “Waves” is seen as an album which confronts and overcomes struggle.
All music but especially this kind where the instruments do the talking needs to have personality. The opener “All the Days” of this album is vibrant, and of the sort where you can imagine a screen behind the band on stage with a sped up journey and places passing by. The post rock ring is there. The drum pumps out a lively tune. It’s in vivid colours. The second track “Julia” is more mellow, with the drum pattering more sympathetically and guitar sound echoing into the wind. The keyboard recreates the sound of cascading leaves. The sound strengthens. If I were being hyper critical, it’s all perhaps a bit test-cardy for those old enough to remember the test card music of pre 24/7 TV days, but it has a nice vibe. A lovely hooky rhythm provides the backdrop to the ringing “Spiral” – I’m sure I’ve heard a song by Canvas Solaris like this. The common element to each of these pieces is that while listening to them and their clarity, it’s like breathing in fresh untainted air. Or like “All the Days”, it’s that journey where we’re flowing meaningfully along a river, flying through the air or driving along an empty road. The sound is really nice. The band refer to the fact that “Waves” is a record that is defiantly triumphant and uplifting in the face of troubled times. My experience was this is uplifting, and to this mid-way point I’d not really felt a darker side.
For the first time on the album “The Mountain’ brings us melancholy in a shoegazing kind of way. As ever, there’s the richness of sound as the post rock rings out and gentle shimmering add breadth and depth. The title track mirrors the rest of the album with its smooth flow and subtle layers. The keyboard provides the constancy. “Waves” is sophisticated but it’s not complex, so we are never tied up in murky knots and weeds. The sky is bright, in my imagination at least, as we float away through different connecting passages. After a short cosmic diversion, the sad and drawn out tones of “The Canyon” reign. It’s nicely played, as these guys from Boston MA know what they’re doing. It’s the first invitation to be miserable on this largely upbeat work. I wasn’t in the mood for this really as Pray for Sound had created high ground for me. “Talus” is more measured and initially tense, but like a blooming flower it expands and in a measured way we’re treated to the kaleidoscopic world of colour, albeit with tinges of sadness, to which the band allows us insight across the course of the album. As the drums pattered, I then felt a classic post rock build up as “Ezra” developed. After a couple of minutes there is a slightly clumsy break, and then it’s business as usual as the track calmly works towards its climax. Uplifting it is not, and I thought it was going to die a death, but there was a quick burst towards the end as if to fulfil the statutory obligation. Of all the tracks, I found “Ezra” the most discomforting and didn’t really get the point of it, where all that had gone before had huge personality and clarity. I must have missed something there.
“Adventure rock” is what they call it, and I can see that. I found that “Waves” is like a journey through experiences and moods without being intense. For the most part it’s got a lightness and airiness about it, which gives us breathing space and more opportunity to enjoy its delightful aromas. “Waves” is a nice album.
(8/10 Andrew Doherty)
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