This Is A Process Of A Still Life
Self-Titled
(Firefly Sessions)
In the past few years there have been so many bands doing the instrumental post rockish sort of thing that it's sort of hard to keep track of everyone. This Is A Process Of A Still Life is yet another band in the long list, but on this debut release of 7 songs and just over 35 minutes they prove themselves quite capable at creating inviting soundscapes that will appeal to those looking for some great guitar-based music.
Having said the above, the large ensemble group definitely has things in common with others who have come before them. There are quieter passages that sound like the melancholy and delicate sections of Mogwai and chiming guitars pieces that recall work by artists like Sonna and Tarentel. Unlike a lot of groups in the genre who rely on dramatic volume changes and other tricks, This Is A Process Of A Still Life mainly makes a go at things by keeping things subtle, yet varied enough to not let the listener get bored.
The disc opens with "Oh God, The Lights Are Going Dim" and the track weaves multiple guitar parts around one another over understated percussion before a closing section with bells takes things down the last few notches. "No Memory Of The Airshow" is one of the longer tracks on the release, opening with ebowed guitar before again giving way to intertwining guitar parts that sound like the quiet moments of an Explosions In The Sky track. The middle part of the track bursts forth as much as anything on the entire release, with pounding drums that rain down cymbals and dense washes of guitar that all mesh nicely.
The main downfall of the album is that the group mainly sticks to that one formula throughout. "Skywriting Over Virginia" sticks out as a nearly purely ambient track with radio-static chatter and melodica over droning guitar, but just about every other track on the release is two guitars going back and forth before building to a small peak and then winding back down again. The tempo rarely changes, and although there are definitely louder moments, the group never fully brings the rock. For that reason, it's a nice disc to wind down to, but it often left me wanting just a bit more. For fans of the aforementioned, this is a release that's good but not quite great.
Rating: 6.75
