Do Make Say Think - You, You're a History in Rust
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Free Music Notes for You, You're a History in Rust
Free Music Review: Finally- I'm converted
Hit: 5 Stars
I may be doing Do Make Say Think a disservice here, but of the various Canadian art/post-rock bands coming out on the Constellation and Alien8 labels, I never found these guys the most engaging. Until now that is. Whereas before I merely respected them, now I love them. This album has converted me. I'm told that post-rock is desperately unfashionable, and when you consider the fervently anti-commercial ethos that such artists typically profess, it should come as no surprise. The notoriety that bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor have garnered, in spite of their predilection for 20 minute instrumental pieces, is really rather remarkable then. And maybe, after all, success isn't such a bad thing, since it helps support a creative community, and one that doesn't stand still. That certainly applies to `You, You're a History in Rust'. You won't find mere reiteration of a tried-and-tested formula here. Indeed, Do Make Say Think are as much concerned with innovation in working practice as with finished product, recognising the crucial dynamic relation between the two. And so with this album they most definitely move forward. Hell, they even flirt with song structures, introducing really effective vocals. Whilst the percussion remains central, typically bolstered by insistent bass lines, we are also treated to delicate acoustic finger-picking and horns that flutter around the edges. Implicit references to folk music traditions abound, and on first listen I even wondered whether they had teamed up with Sufjan Stevens. This album really moves me and I urge you to let it do the same for you.Free Music Review: Best of 2007: walking the line that separates BSS from Mono
Hit: 5 Stars
Though not necessarily the best representation of the band's work, "You, You're a History in the Rust" comes in as a solid contender for Best Music in 2007. Full-bodied guitars and percussion meet horns and even vocals (a new element in DMST music) to deliver a production that grows in you with every new listen. The album walks the fine line that "separates" Canadian super-band Broken Social Scene (with whom they share two members) from Mono (the post-rock ensemble from Japan).
After having heard "You, You're a History in the Rust" more than a few times (it just doesn't leave my CD player in the car and I have Do Make Say Think in high rotation in my iTunes at work), I went back into the rest of the band's discography and have only encountered jewels. They are now one of my favorite bands.
Free Music Review: Listener-friendly DMST -- quite a good album
Hit: 4 Stars
I've been listening to DMST for some time now but this I'm enjoying this new CD more than any of their others. Apart from the ridiculous song titles, this is a great mix of jazzy, catchy but not simple- or "pop"-sounding songs; and the vocal parts are actually very well integrated into the songs. Not one track that I skip. Bottom line: if you've ever been "on the fence" with DMST, this album is a good one to hear. Too many post-rock outfits are little more than Mogwai sound-a-likes (e.g. MONO), but DMST has a unique sound. And by the way, DMST is surprisingly good in concert. --- P.S. Other lesser-known post-rock outfits to sample: SAXON SHORE, MASERATI, GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT, and EL TEN ELEVEN. Free Music Review: YEAH, THEY ARE "THAT BAND"
Hit: 4 Stars
The music here belongs pretty well solely to DMST. No need for comparisons. At times raw, at times elegant, majestic, upclose or remote and never afraid of the odd harmonic outcome, the CD not only sounds very live (pretty remarkable recording and mastering job for those who enjoy evaluating production) but the music itself is very, very alive: to the moment, to the ideas, to the possibilities this band pursues with such unvarnished alacrity. The result is music -- no matter how long you've followed the ups and downs of rock and postrock -- that can still make you turn your head and let you know you're listening to something different enough and smart enough to actually keep on listening and then listen again.Free Music Review: Yet another consistent and engaging album from the group
Hit: 4 Stars
Many years ago, I took a chance and bought three albums on a little upstart label from Canada. At the time, the only band that I'd actually heard on their roster was Godspeed You Black Emperor, but that was good enough for me, and I picked up releases by Exhaust, Sofa, and a group called Do Make Say Think. The rest, as they say, is history, and after a series of steady albums that little unknown group with four verbs as their name became artists that I could simply count on to release great music time in and time out with every album.
Times change a bit, and with seemingly every member of the group participating in about 3 other projects, there was bound to be a period where their other obligations would pull them away. With several members sharing time in the successful Broken Social Scene and other members having children and generally living their lives, it's been almost four years between the release of Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn and the long-awaited You, You're A History In Rust. Like previous albums, there are places where the release doesn't sink in on first listen, and yet in most places it's like they haven't skipped a beat.
Opening track "Bound To Be That Way" is a perfect example of the group falling right back into things, as the song mixes gorgeous heavy strums of guitar with more propulsive sections that incorporate everything from banjo to buzzing bass while peaking in two delightful crescendos. "A With Living" follows, and it's a slight curveball, with vocal contributions from Akron/Family that really flesh things out in places while at the same time running a bit overlong at over nine minutes in length.
A nice mixture of upbeat and more measured instrumental work, the release shows off some nice dynamics from the group, with everything from cranked-up guitar workouts like "The Universe" to hushed acoustic guitar and ambience pieces like "A Tender History In Rust." In some ways, the release feels like sort of a fifty-minute compendium of all their work done to date, with songs that have similar feels to different tracks off past albums without sounding directly like anything else they've done before.
As a fan of the group, it's simply hard to argue with propulsive pieces like "Executioner's Blues," which scatters their insanely lush guitar chords and crisp polyrhythms over more guitar parts and synths that cascade and build to gleeful blowouts. Like their previous album, they even end things with a downright poppy track that's upbeat while holding just a hint of resignation (and an insanely loud ending). In the end, You, You're A History In Rust is eight more songs from a group who as mentioned above has become one of the more remarkably consistent and adventurous ones out there, especially considering the crowded playing field that they inhabit. One of my favorite albums so far in this very young year.
(from almost cool music reviews)
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