With so much music available I can often be guilty of prioritising listening to a release based on its cover and other metadata. Before listening to { } by Still my expectations were heightened by the wonderful teal, hand screen printed cover, the fact it is on Trepanation Recordings and that it was recorded by the indomitable Joe Clayton at No Studio. I can confirm that not one moment on { } disappointed those high preconceptions. This is cathartic post-hardcore at its best, pushing giref and pain in waves of overwhelming suffocation whilst also offering a shining a light of acceptance and recovery.
I don’t know for sure those are any of the themes of the album but that is the impression it has on me. From the pained vocals to the dark embrace of the music it feels as if this is a real dumping ground of emotion which embraces a therapeutic approach to unburden in a beautiful and unnerving fashion. That may sound contradictory but Still manages to capture moments which feel like an inverted crescendo, such as the opening sections of ‘Half Hands Won’t Hold’. The guitars spiral in an upward motion before progressing into negative sounding chords and both sounds hold against each other making for an infectious track.
There are numerous flashes of a blackened oppression that are akin to Celeste or Rocal yet there is plenty of variety to stop that from becoming overbearing. The band mixes the instant impact of black metal with a concoction of Converge like dissonance, glistening post-metal and spacious post-hardcore sounds which gives diversity to the ear and that breeds longevity. The opening three tracks exemplify this as ‘Droves’ focuses on that blackened edge whilst following track ‘Continued Suffering of an Endless Night’ throws more dissonance before ‘We Were Ghosts (All Along) breaths some more in the expansive post-hardcore.
The final two tracks act as the release of all the tension that has been built through the album. ‘Blear, Amidst’ slows the pace down and has some of the clearest vocals which still burst with pain over the swirling drone before the climatic shouts of “alone beneath the clouds” lifts the guitar to rapture. Closing track Ever { I.I.MMXVI } then wraps all the different styles of the album up in a wondrous 10 minute journey that ends on an uplifting trajectory and on its conclusion the cleansing feels complete.
{ } is one of those monumental albums that takes the ingredients of others but creates something different that is fresh and new without being unfamiliar. Everything that is attempted here works flawlessly and the ever present cloaking atmosphere helps to gel the styles to the albums aesthetic, it is a magnificent recording and a massively powerful sound. { } will most definitely be riding very high on my end of year list.
