I was first introduced to the mystifying shoegaze outfit Have A Nice Life when I heard that they were releasing a highly anticipated sophomore album this year. After getting wind of the hype that was generating over this release I had to go back and check out the band's critically acclaimed debut album Deathconsciousness, which dropped way back in 2008. I was immediately blown away by how different the band's sound was from other post-rock and shoegaze albums I've heard. Their sound seemed all at once bleak and colossal. Every sound on that album seemed echoey, oddly distorted and somewhat muffled, as if recorded in a cave. But as distorted sounds are continually layered upon distorted sounds, many of the songs on Deathconsciousness take on this massive, orchestrated feel.
So after hearing their debut, I got myself pretty worked up over the release of The Unnatural World. And when I finally did hear it, I wasn't disappointed... not in the least bit. Although it isn't nearly as epic in scope as Deathconsciousness (which is nearly an hour-and-a-half long), that echoey and massively gloomy feeling is still there. Right off the bat, it's apparent that Have A Nice Life are still writing some absolutely colossal sounding songs. Songs like the steadily marching album opener Guggenheim Wax and the monstrous Defenstration Song build into earth-shattering post rock crescendos, while the booming Music Will Untune The Sky layers the band's voices over distorted guitar chords and chimes to create an almost apocalyptic, spiritual vibe.
In the midst of all of these post rock climaxes, the album is not without it's creepy and rather depressing moments as well. The song Cropsey, named after an urban legend and bogey man used to frighten the children of New York, starts with a sample of an interview with "Johnny" a child patient of the controversial (and apparently super haunted) Pennhurst State School and Hospital. The sample is unsettling to say the least, and the song which builds off some eerie chimes, eventually becoming a reverberating orchestra of distortion and pounding drums is easily the most emotionally charged song on the album. The last song, Emptiness Will Eat the Witch is also the albums longest, and rather than build into a crescendo it sets a sprawling depressive soundscape with some droning ambient sounds, a suitable end to a rather dark sounding album.
The Unnatural World is a grim yet sonically massive album. The fact that it was released in February was incredibly appropriate to me, arguably it's the bleakest month in Calgary. But this isn't an album that I'll listen to because it's depressing. Although it has a dark side, the album isn't all doom and gloom, thanks to those huge post rock build-ups The Unnatural World is imbued with a feeling of confidence and courage amidst all the darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment