By: Thomas Laycock
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Released on November 7, 2014 via Denovali Records
The fifth full-length release from Somerset’s Blueneck finds the champions of exhilarating melancholy charting new territory while still retaining the soulful core that has made them the darlings of delicate song-based post-rock.
Established fans should prepare themselves for a change: gone are the triumphant and relentless crescendos of The Fallen Host, no more the cold desert sparseness of Epilogue. Instead King Nine possesses more level dynamics with more saturated soundscapes and production wherein the band embrace more electronic and synthesized elements than ever before.
‘Counting Out’ opens the record richly with what is – by Blueneck standards – a fairly up-tempo pace, the driving piano phrase conveying real impetus only to be undercut by a darkening chromatic shift. This is a band who have always embraced musical and emotional ambiguity and they do not disappoint here. They waste little time in laying down a shimmering guitar line that lifts and propels the piece and seems to scroll over it in parallax like the view from a train window. The track swells and fades to a crystalline coda threaded through by the gossamer filigree of Duncan Attwood’s fractured vocals that let the song die gently. They may have started with a burst of energy, but they are still prone to pensive mood swings.
The proceeding track ‘Sirens’ revolves around a haunting melody and gnarly bass sound that conspire to hypnotise you until the intensity ramps up, the sound deepens and fills out, the screwdriver riding the guitar strings in beautifully deranged fashion. This is both fragile and fulminating, a Blueneck trademark.
Titular track ‘King Nine’ is a standout, opening with the gentle pulse of a drum machine accompanied by a throbbing synthesizer that gradually coalesces to give birth to the vocal line. The instrumentation is delicate and languid, the strings surface and fall away like moonlit marine life. This is a very powerful and romantic piece and an excellent distillation of what this album can achieve when it hits its stride.
‘Broken Fingers’ is another highlight containing some of the most heart-rending melodies on the album. A slow-burner in a simmering sea of slow-burners, this song is gorgeous and endlessly re-listenable, even though the initial lyric is a little ropey and in danger of tipping pathos over into bathos. This is a minor quibble though and detracts little from the power of the piece.
Overall the album is a profoundly immersive and beautiful listening experience. On a more critical note it did feel as though the increased emphasis on vocals and more ‘song-like’ songs left less room for the music to take over and develop and sweep you away. In their previous work extensive instrumental passages created a deep field of sound for you to explore on your own and gave more power to the vocal line upon its return, creating a feeling of emotional reunion. There remain some stunning sequences that are purely instrumental, but generally the focus has shifted and more weight has been given to the vocals to carry.
The drama of this record is conjured more by its layering and subtleties than its dynamic range. It is more a case of being swept along by a river than climbing up to where the air grows thin. If you are a fan of the grand gesture and the passionate eruption you may find yourself urging the band to kick it off a little more at times. The restraint they apply here is a double-edged sword; on the one hand it serves to highlight the delicacies of the arrangements but on the other it can sometimes feel as though they have clipped their own wings.
As with many records in this type of genre King Nine is an album that wont relinquish its secrets on a first, second or even tenth listen. It invites you to explore its nuances and sucks you deeper into its depths with every approach. While dynamically it never reaches the dizzying heights of some of their previous work it remains an exquisitely beautiful and refined record, and while ‘The Fallen Host’ still stands as their masterpiece I would gladly put ‘King Nine’ in second place.
With King Nine Blueneck continue to push forward as artists while staying true to their core musical constituents, keeping things interesting for themselves and listeners alike. Even though they may sometimes leave you longing for more explosive action, this is the sound of a band as broken, frail and powerful as ever.
