December 2009 • Beta-lactam Ring Records
One Starving Day's debut Broken Wings Lead Arms to the Sun was a bit dull and, while not terrible, I was disappointed because they had a good sound I really enjoyed, yet the songs themselves didn't do much with it. Fortunately, Atlas Coelestis is everything I'd hoped for from their second effort: they've kept the same despairing and gloomy sound while massively improving their songwriting to match.
Like their debut, this album is post-rock with a hint of sludge, but not quite in the same way as Godspeed or Mogwai do it; it has a very doomy quality that sounds like it could be easily confused for Neurosis' The Eye of Every Storm—heck, the vocalist even sounds like he could actually be Scott Kelly. I love Neurosis, so that all is a good thing for me. The guitars aren't really heavy, but there is still plenty of chunky distortion, spazzy drumming (one of the album's highlights, actually), and gritty bass along with some alien synths, sound clips, and other guest instruments like cello and xylophone. It's a really neat sound, and while it's not totally original they do it well.
As I mentioned, the songs themselves are also more interesting this time around. I found the debut to be a bit drawn-out and repetitive, but that more or less isn't the case anymore. While there is still repetition (it wouldn't be post-rock without it) it serves the songwriting better with some nice buildups that allow the instruments to breathe better without getting too stale. The typical loud/soft dynamic is here as well, but I feel like they keep things a bit less predictable—the way "Black:Black" jumps from drony guitar straight into a mathy groove with that great saxophone lead, then devolves back into droning but still with sax is really cool.
However it's still not quite as focused as I would like—sometimes the amount of instrumentation and lengthy tracks can lose their way for a little bit, mostly in the longer pieces. The band has a tendency to milk their buildups and draw out the bits with lots of layered arpeggio that just sort of go nowhere, and there is often weird dissonance in the slow quieter sections that have fast complex drumming. "Disclosure/Radiance" is a good example of the former with its very lengthy middle; the transition into the heavier rock ending is great but I don't think the lengthy buildup really justifies it. It's not a huge issue, though; the overall sound is still an improvement and there are enough straightforward parts to balance things out.
Still, I'm impressed; it's not a fantastic album but I'm glad I was right about the band's potential and I hope they continue the trend of improvement if they are working on new material. Of course, One Starving Day won't be for everyone, and since I have a long history with post-rock and Neurosis-style sludge this album fits in my library nicely, as it will with anyone else who might fit that niche.
(but, you know, a good 6.)
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