By: Rich Buley
Compass & Knife | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on November 17, 2015 via Bandcamp
We write a lot about post rock here at Echoes & Dust Towers. We do so because we are hugely passionate about it, a passion that for most of us became entrenched years ago by some of the most original, evocative and powerful pieces of music any of us had ever heard. There is a fabulous debate about the nature of so-called post rock here.
I, for one, will never fall out of love with it, as I continuously seek the next big hit (as in ‘euphoric high’, you understand, rather than ‘chart smash’). However, and to continue with the lame, drug-taking metaphor, like some addled, drone-head crescendo junkie, I do find that I have to pump, squeeze, shoot and pop more and more new post rock into my ears in order to discover those momentary, overwhelming senses of aural rapture that once upon a time seemed so readily obtainable. Maybe I should go into post rock rehab, be locked away for 2 months and be forced to listen to nothing but Coldplay and Nickelback. Can you imagine that? After treatment and assuming I was still able to remember who I was before Cleansing by Beige began, why, even the gentle hum of an office strip light would be blessed, intoxicating release.
The issue does go beyond my own potential for contempt-breeding over-familiarity with the genre, though. Firstly, there is a million tonnes of post rock to listen to. It is a wonderful thing indeed that any artist or band in the entire world with access to minimal recording equipment and the internet can release music. The downside (I can only think of one) to this over-population, like any I suppose, is anonymity, the dilution of individual character by sheer weight of numbers. In the case of most post rock artists, they don’t even have words to make themselves heard.
And then, of course, there is the quality of the music itself to consider, lest we forget! Too often, for me, we hear formulaic, thrill-less slow builds and oh-so predictable sonic climaxes. The two recent albums by Caspian and We Lost The Sea saw both bands lose none of their emotive power as they introduced new elements to their sound, spreading their wings and soaring into unchartered territory. The results, in both cases, were epic, beautiful.
Compass & Knife, a four piece from Tacoma, Washington State, have quite a challenge therefore, as with any new band playing this style of music. They either need to add something exciting and original to the genre, or be so bloody good at delivering captivating post rock in its conventional form that they stand head and shoulders above the oceans of ordinariness that surround them. While they will not win any awards for innovation, second release The Setting Of The Old Sun does in fact rise most convincingly from the latter category, and has enough variation in its eight tracks to keep interest levels high.
Beginning with the upbeat ‘I Am Endless’, Compass & Knife expertly marry the spacey histrionics of All Is Violent, All Is Bright era God Is An Astronaut to the grungy pop sensibilities of early Pumpkins and Pickups. Much like GIAA, this band does not fuck about with five minute intros, and like to get on with the business at hand, with only one track passing the 6 minute mark. This makes for a more urgent listen, despite the relatively slow pace of the rest of the album, and also provides a much more organic feel to the band’s playing. You do not get the impression that they are checking the ‘How to post rock’ text book, for their next move. Going with the motions, rather than going through them, if you will.
Yes, in addition to God Is An Astronaut you can undoubtedly hear the massive influence of Mogwai, Mono, Explosions In the Sky- all the major names- but Compass & Knife somehow manage to put a unique stamp on this rather derivative framework. Theirs is a delicate blend of glistening chords and reverb-laden highs, but they never overload the listener with dramatic gestures, nor a full-on sonic attack on the senses.
This subtlety is no better displayed than on the 2 tracks unexpectedly containing singing, with the blurred and ethereal male vocals in ‘Transconsciousness’ adding a splendid extra dimension to that which had gone before, while the beautifully arranged ‘Our Home Is Nothing But A Memory’, all understated, billowing synths and dreamy, sweeping guitar, sees a female vocal turn that undoubtedly provides a highlight of the album.
Compass & Knife have risen far above the sum of their influences, and delivered a very fine instrumental rock album that made its way comfortably into this writer’s overall top 20 releases of 2015. Jolly well done them.
