The promo blurb sets expectations high when it heralds the arrival of ‘Black Sea’, which finds upcdownc ‘conjuring up imagery of ship wrecks and sea storms, tranquil soundscapes to titan-sized juggernaut riffs’. What’s more surprising is that it still does little to prepare the listener for the enormously ambitious, and ambitious enormity of the album’s contents. ‘Black Sea’ is no mere brooding post rock album with a few riffs thrown in: oh, no, it’s much more. From deep rumbling atmospherics to meandering post-rock via squalling progressive metal, ‘Black Sea’ really does touch – and then kick and punch at – a vast array of genres.
The shouty vocal section of ‘Titan’ bears a passing resemblance to Future of the Left before it screams off on an epic rock riff workout. And that’s only the first track. This largely instrumental album that explores a host of styles and directions without loss of coherence. At times reminiscent of I Like Trains circa ‘He Who Saw the Deep’, at others more likely to evoke Queens of the Stone Age, upcdownc demonstrate a knack for both rock and post rock compositions of a rare quality. Opener ‘Titan’ moves effortlessly from a soaring post-rocker to a full-on rock epic; contrastingly, the short instrumental ‘End of Every Film’ is a delicate piece that meanders softly, chiming guitars and soft sweeping strings hanging in clouds of reverb to forge an atmosphere of calm.
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‘Drive’ does just that, coming on like ZZ Top with a chunky, chugging riff powering through the Arizona desert. The title track sounds like a post-rock Simon & Garfunkel, melodic vocals in a (black) sea of reverb amidst a maelstrom of guitars that ebb and flow over the course of eight and a half minutes. The swirling atmospherics of psychedelic-hued ‘Z-more’ paves the way for the dual salvoes of ‘La Dolce Vita’ (not a cover of Ryan Paris’ 1983 synth pop smash, but a brooding, instrumental piece which finds a lonely piano stroll through bleak terrain) and the epic, expansive ‘Hunter Gatherer’.
In touching on so many different musical elements, ‘Black Sea’ demonstrates upcdownc’s capacity to touch so many different parts of the lister’s psyche. The album’s musical scope and ambition is matched by the depth and emotional range of the songs, and the end result is mighty impressive.
upcdownc Online
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