Pelican – Forever Becoming

October 14, 2013 • Southern Lord Records

I don't get excited for new Pelican like I used to. Like most people, I consider their first two albums and first two EPs to be quite good and everything after that not worth even bothering with. Well, surprise surprise—Forever Becoming is just as not-very-good as I had thought.

To be fair, I think they're trying. Both the first two tracks are styled pretty different to what I'd consider their normal sound; "Terminal" is a slow, hollow, trudging track and "Deny the Absolute" is fast and upbeat with a slight post-hardcore sound. Unfortunately, that still doesn't make them good; I've already forgotten the generic riffs as soon as they're over. It's heavier than their last couple albums, but not particularly; the melodies are maybe a bit more interesting, but not much; the performance is a lot less sloppy than it used to be, but it never should have been sloppy in the first place.

If you want to find enjoyment in this album, it's there. There are a good handful of moments worth head-bobbing along to, and they can still get really heavy when they want to and a lot of the time it sounds great when they do. I think it's probably better than both City of Echoes and What We All Come to Need, for what it's worth.

But if no one knew who Pelican was when they released this album, no one would care about it. I guess I can see an audience for people who don't actually listen to sludge metal enough to know what they should be expecting; sludge and post-rock have moved far on from this sound and it doesn't cut it anymore. It's not bottom-of-the-barrel awful, just mediocre enough to not bother with, which is worse in a way. It's fine enough while it's on, but it's definitely not worth getting excited about and dropping money on.

5