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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Album Review: Seven Mile Journey - Notes for the Synthesis

Ah, it's so refreshing when, once in a while, post-rock projects like Denmark-based band Seven Mile Journey release something in a minor key, really bringing out different emotions and feelings within songs, instead of just trying to rip off Sigur Rós (though to this, I have no objections, because post-rock in general is a great genre). But, getting back to the purpose, the tracks on the record are connected, passing on the subtle, sweeping sound, each in its own building up and releasing, in a cathartic motion, an intense and trudging buildup to the end.



For example, "The Altar Ego Autopsies", the second song on the record, flows on from the first song, "Departure", but carries a sad and even horrific air to start, sounding a little like the intro to Halloween. As the song progresses, however, it begins a very Explosions in the Sky-esque buildup, hopefulness behind every stroke, until the mood suddenly begins to die away and lead into "Simplicity Has a Paradox", which sounds more like a funeral mourning at the beginning than anything else, but leads into a faster and darker sound which further more enchants and entices.

Overall, this record creates a haunting and beautiful sound that really just stuck with me for a while - I couldn't get it out of my head. The different layers of sound in the songs are so well meshed that each aspect melds with one another and just creates such a fantastic work of post-rock that I could appreciate it as much the first listen as I could the fifth (and believe me, I'm far past the fifth listen).

Track Listing:
  1. Departures
  2. The Alter Ego Autopsies
  3. Simplicity Has a Paradox
  4. The Engram Dichotomy
  5. Transits
  6. The Etiology Diaries

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