Added.
May 31st, 2014
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Hymn to the Immortal Wind by
Mono
I don't think I need to talk too much about Mono. One of the biggest acts from the land of the rising sun, they are masters of the crescendo. One of the largest post-rock bands as well, rivaling the popularity of Sigur Ros and Mogwai. They have made many successful albums - but one that struck me personally is Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain. The landscapes are very bleak - one of the most depressing albums ever created. It hits you harder and harder with darker shades of melancholy - it makes the smallest crescendo feel like earthquakes. It is my favourite post-rock album of all time, and there are a couple of people in this community who feel the same. Hymn to the Immortal Wind is another post-rock album from Mono, but with modern classical elements.
In contrast to You Are There, Hymn To The Immortal Wind feels sounds a lot more magnificent. You Are There is like a trek to the top of a snowy mountain - while this album is your experience on the summit. Ashes in the Snow sets off the mood for this album. It's vast, it's intimidating but also beautiful. You feel cold and desolate, but the sounds of falling snow is comforting. You eventually succumb to your own fear and shiver - but the snow embraces you tighter. The crescendo in this is just wonderfully heartbreaking. The crescendo is like you breaking through your anxiety and everything - you feel unstoppable. The energy the crescendo has... is unbelievable. It's most definitely not the loudest, but it's certainly one of the strongest. You feel like you have the power to not just destroy, but create. The guitars are weeping, but soon their sadness turn into bewilderment. You feel like you're off the ground as the crescendo becomes stronger. In fact, you are flying. You fly off to the dark abyss - waiting whatever waits you.
Burial at Sea is like watching a funeral at sea from a bird's eye view. You watch the faces of people sobbing. The entire place just seems very bleak. As the coffin is shifted from land to sea, their emotions start to spike. They start to cry and scream - while others constantly try to hold back their tears. The more the coffin descends, the more everyone weeps. The emotions cut short once the coffin sinks into the sea. The atmosphere feels baffled, confused. No one has really expected to be in this situation. When they get back into their senses... their emotions start to form this collective sadness. They cry in unison, for their lost one. Not just sobbing, everyone is hugging and crying onto each other's shoulders. It must've been someone that was very dear to them. You've never seen such care for someone before. You couldn't help but feel tears - which further enhances the bleak environment. The moment was quite short-lived... but it was a traumatising one for sure.
I would love to write more of these, but I'm really sleepy. Didn't get enough sleep today. Anyway, Hymn to the Immortal Wind is a journey through the land. Ashes in the Snow is a really good track, it really fazed me - especially at the crescendo. Burial at Sea and Slight Flight, Sleeping Dawn are more depressing - but also magical. The orchestration makes it feel like a fairy tale. They aren't as good as the first track, but they're still pretty. Very atmospheric, but the details seem blur. Not to say that I didn't get the effect - I most certainly did. I just can't feel the intricacies as much as I wanted to. While PPMMR has made up for it through its extremely visceral effects, Hymn to the Immortal Wind doesn't do it as much. It's a respectable attempt though.
This album is really just Mono doing what they usually do. There are some differences from their older albums - particularly the orchestration, but nothing too fresh. People would normally call this a flaw, but I'd disagree. I have mentioned before in a review that not all uninspiring albums are bad. Most of them are, but this is an exception. Mono is good at what they do. They might be some of the most generic post-rock bands out there, but they are one of the best. No average post-rock band will make something as magnificent as this. They won't make a track like Pure As Snow. The sounds are layered with so much catharsis and wonder, they sound far from generic. The template is generic for sure, but that's it. I don't see a reason why they should be put down because they are uninspiring in terms of structure. There are already many good experimental post-rock bands out there like Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I don't see a reason why Mono should try something different if they're good at what they do.
Have to admit though, they can only go so far before the album starts to become a little bland. None of the other tracks really seem to top Ashes in the Snow. They're usually not powerful enough, or just not very memorable. Pure as Snow is a good attempt, but it's not quite there. The tracks are good for sure, but I could listen to something else. Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain isn't as bland, though it does feel a little slow at points. That album had many standout tracks, however. They are tracks that I will come back and listen to again and again. Hymn to the Immortal Wind doesn't quite have them. It is a problem with albums that are supposedly "generic", though. There are almost always albums that are better, and the weaker albums end up being replaced.
Better than You Are There for sure. This album is far more interesting and engaging. Nowhere as good as Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain, but I think that's a spectacle they will never top. This is a great album however, there is no denying that. The sounds are beautiful and create quite the atmosphere. I just think there's a lot more to be desired in this. They're not cathartic enough. There are a couple of moments in the album which really shine, but they're so brief. The last 3 minutes of The Battle To Heaven feel like a punch to the chest, for example. The rest of the album just feels outmatched by other post-rock acts. Ah well, there will be flaws in every album. That's what makes every album different, I suppose. Hymn to the Immortal Wind is a good album. If you want to start on post-rock, this is one of the best to start with. If you're more experienced with post-rock, you wouldn't find this too spectacular. But if you're into pretty atmospheres, by all means go for it. This album might very well be one of your favourite albums.
In short I just really like Ashes in the Snow. There should more tracks like that, I'm a little disappointed that there aren't any other tracks that are similar.
Album Highlights: Ashes in the Snow, Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)
Track Average Rating: 3.64/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Revolutionary Pekinese Opera Ver.1.28 by
Ground Zero (recommended by noname219)
*checks genres on RYM*
...Oh dear.
Revolutionary Pekinese Opera Ver.1.28 is a sound collage/musique concrete album. Never listened to any sound collage album, nor have I listened to musique concrete. At least, not for long periods of time. I'm not quite sure what this album is about - but I know what a Peking opera is. It's essentially traditional Chinese theatre, usually complemented with dance and acrobatics.
The first track is your typical Peking opera, just repeated over and over. It progresses to form a more chaotic wall of noise. More and more layers of operas are added to the mix and it just doesn't stop building. It keeps building up more and more to the point that it's hard to tell what's going on. Unfortunately it doesn't quite hold my attention - there's not really much that interest me here. Too much going on. It's not really unpleasant sounding, just not interesting. It's noisy for the sake of being noisy. I'm not too sure how I could approach this album, however. I most certainly cannot approach this like how I approach something like ambient.
I think by the time I've reached the third track I've realised that this isn't a serious album. Ground Zero is obviously having fun while doing this. The sound is insane and extremely playful. Elements of free/avant-garde jazz and noise, all embedded into this mish-mash of sounds. I don't think I can really talk about these tracks - I'd be understating its insanity. This is a ridiculous album, to say the least.
Just not the type of insane that I want. It feels far too goofy. I do want to hear something interesting in this wall of noise. It just feels very lackluster - although it's so noisy. These layers of noise aren't always unpleasant, but they're incoherent. They're too random and experimental to really form any cohesive experience. The sounds are quite interest for a few seconds, then it just gets bland. Some of them eventually become grating to hear - I could feel my stomach ache or something in one of the tracks. Really not a good sign when that happens.
Paraiso 1 is one of the better tracks here. It is also the least experimental. It's quite pleasant, with the busy but soothing sounds of instruments. There's a female voice which looms every now and then, but not that bad. It's very melodic in its approach - almost feels like post-rock. That is, up to the latter half. It goes back to avant-garde material after that. The latter half of Paraiso 1 is harsh noise, but it's a lo-fi recording. Kinda nice to listen to, actually. Might be because the recording isn't as grating as some of the other samples so far.
But the rest of the album... not for me. Too free-spirited and playful for me. The jazzy parts are nice, but they only sound pretty. Either that, or they get covered by more incoherent sampling. I don't really feel anything from the album either - so there's no cathartic value there. The album is just too silly to enjoy. It is an interesting album though, but it feels so unfocused to be enjoyable. It's not really as intimidating as what the genres say though. It's far more accessible than many other experimental albums.
Grand Pink Junction Ballad might very well be one of the most hilarious tracks ever made though. I couldn't stop laughing at the screaming samples.
Album Highlights: Paraiso 1, Grand Pink Junction Ballad
Track Average Rating: 2.22/5
Overall Rating: 4/10
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
That's all for this month. Tallying up ratings and all now.
In order of how much I enjoyed the albums this month:
308 albums to go. I'll slow down for a bit for the next few weeks because I have examinations to prepare for. I have lots of time to finish this, though. Well over 210 days to go...