This is Souvenir’s Young America’s third full-length release and it is a veritable monster of an album overflowing with invention and emotion and capable of singularly crushing sonic might as well as inspiring elements of light and shade which keep the disc from becoming too unbearably claustrophobic. Apparently inspired by the author Rebecca Solnit who is well known on the political scene having been actively involved in the anti-war movement throughout Bush’s presidency as well as for her work towards environmental issues and human rights, the album features layers of instrumentation which take multiple listens to fully decipher and appreciate while the mix is both crystal clear and imbued with a deep, roaring bass sound (no doubt thanks in part to the involvement of Khanate member James Poltkin) which really brings the best out of the band.
While there are far more instrumental bands these days, partially due to the success of post-rock bands such as Mogwai, Isis and Red Sparrowes, there is still plenty of scope for the genre to expand thanks to the endlessly searching qualities of those who choose to create instrumental music. The inevitable critical backlash (a common feature of the cynical and easily unimpressed British and American press in particular) notwithstanding, this month alone has seen some truly awe-inspiring releases especially from Gifts for Enola and now this album comes along almost eclipsing the formers ethereal beauty. ‘Water (forgetting the past)’ is a case in point. One of just four tracks on the album (although the CD edition also features tracks from the band’s ‘September songs’ 12”) it is simply bursting with ideas and it couples a distortion-laden guitar sound with a darkly unsettling synth layer and crashing cymbals. Like Red Sparrowes, SYA take the listener on a journey with the music ebbing and flowing around you, shifting from gentle soundscape to torrential wall of noise without so much as a hint of warning. Evoking a western feel with bursts of Harmonica is particularly effective, while the guitars sound almost robotic in places, creating a beautifully dark vision of America’s desolate desert areas.
‘Vanishing (remaining’ has much to live up to after the immense first track, but it does so successfully thanks to a strange, backwards-reverb laden opening that develops into a strange cross between the claustrophobic rock of Neurosis and the classical guitar sound of Mastadon playing Queens of the stone age covers. If that sounds rather too good to be true, I assure you it’s not – SYA have both talent and inspiration in spades and this beautiful, overwhelming work is the result. ‘Dust (erasing the future’) is even more ‘out there’ opening like a modern day soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone with skeletal drums, warm harmonica and guitar and keyboards weaving an image of beautiful desolation and loss while never slipping into depressing territory. A stunning and evocative piece of art, it forms a centrepiece to the raging sounds of the rest of the album and it is quite breathtaking. Final track ‘Amnesia (a victor’s history)’ arrives all too soon in a haze of distortion that subsides and dissipates leaving the song somewhere between ‘CODY’-era Mogwai and ‘Red Sparrowes’ territory. The track builds and builds but never quite takes off, leaving you caught between the earth and the sky by the slow-burning majesty of the music making it a fine ending to an extraordinary record.
Of the four tracks made available to SonicAbuse I can truly make no complaint. The music is astonishingly beautiful, subtle and original and the production is flawless. As for the actual release I’d say this: there is a tendency to add extra tracks to albums these days – be they live, demos or remixes – but while it offers extra value it often detracts from releases such as this. ‘The name of the snake’ is a work that should be heard in its entirety, separate from the band’s other compositions and in order. It is the sort of work that Steven Wilson would approve of as it stands contrary to everything the I-pod generation understand about music and the composition of albums. As such, adding tracks to the CD may offer fans a greater value package, but I feel it detracts from a work such as this which should stand proudly alone – still, I guess that that’s what the ‘program’ button is for and it’s hardly fair criticising the band for trying to give their fans more – it’s rather an observation on current marketing trends I guess. Nonetheless, for my money, the limited (just 500 copies) vinyl, without bonus tracks, is the best way to appreciate this truly remarkable piece of art and for those readers who appreciate subtle, beautiful, often-heavy, unclassifiable music this is something you have to get hold of. Utterly stunning.
