Souvenir's Young America - An Ocean Without Water
Crucial Blast - CBR61 - July 24, 2007
By Jack Deming
I have always admired artists such as Sigur R[SIZE=-1]ó[/SIZE]s and Ulver who so beautifully marry the different aspects of ambient music to make it both obscure and accessible at the same time. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than an artist using space and silence for the sake of it. You must communicate an idea or feeling and have an overall sound, or else you're just babbling to yourself. The ability to use space and atmosphere well is a very delicate and difficult thing to do in music, and the fact that many bands who can so masterfully manipulate these tools are often overlooked or labeled as pretentious is simply the nature of the beast.
Souvenir's Young America's sophomore effort is a hauntingly eclectic metallic post rock album with a cool sound consisting of a number of spacey synth effects, echoing slide and distorted guitars, and drums that at times emerge as a totally separate musical entity in their own right. My personal favorite instrumental quirk in An Ocean Without Water is the heavily reverbed harmonica that often rises out from under a few layers of tracks to give the music a stylistic, old western atmosphere. The most interesting aspect of this band's sound is its emphasis on the delicate art of both sporadically grasping the listener's attention and letting their mind wander, making for a unique and sometimes disconcerting listening experience. You be the judge of whether or not this is a good thing, but I found that I couldn't even allow myself to listen to this album while writing its review, simply because I would invariably find myself wandering aimlessly around the house or watching shark attack videos on Youtube 10 minutes later. Musically induced ADD indeed. All the same, Souvenir's Young America's ability to form smooth transitions from sections of songs that sound like whale mating calls to genuinely rocking Neurosis/Sabbath style grooves is what makes this music stand out to my ears.
Now to the part where I make my gripes known. One grievance that I developed as I listened to An Ocean Without Water was with the annoying abundance of pseudo arty synth patches that would have been better placed in the score of a 1930s science fiction film to illustrate the cosmic wonder of a person being beamed up into a hubcap flying saucer with a very visible rope. I get it guys. You're deep. Moving on. But on the whole this is a beautiful piece of music, and whether you're seeking a heavier alternative to the post rock/ambient movement or simply something to relax and clear your mind with, An Ocean Without Water is a worthy musical accompaniment.
Official Souvenir's Young America Website
Official Crucial Blast Records Website
Crucial Blast - CBR61 - July 24, 2007
By Jack Deming
I have always admired artists such as Sigur R[SIZE=-1]ó[/SIZE]s and Ulver who so beautifully marry the different aspects of ambient music to make it both obscure and accessible at the same time. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than an artist using space and silence for the sake of it. You must communicate an idea or feeling and have an overall sound, or else you're just babbling to yourself. The ability to use space and atmosphere well is a very delicate and difficult thing to do in music, and the fact that many bands who can so masterfully manipulate these tools are often overlooked or labeled as pretentious is simply the nature of the beast.
Souvenir's Young America's sophomore effort is a hauntingly eclectic metallic post rock album with a cool sound consisting of a number of spacey synth effects, echoing slide and distorted guitars, and drums that at times emerge as a totally separate musical entity in their own right. My personal favorite instrumental quirk in An Ocean Without Water is the heavily reverbed harmonica that often rises out from under a few layers of tracks to give the music a stylistic, old western atmosphere. The most interesting aspect of this band's sound is its emphasis on the delicate art of both sporadically grasping the listener's attention and letting their mind wander, making for a unique and sometimes disconcerting listening experience. You be the judge of whether or not this is a good thing, but I found that I couldn't even allow myself to listen to this album while writing its review, simply because I would invariably find myself wandering aimlessly around the house or watching shark attack videos on Youtube 10 minutes later. Musically induced ADD indeed. All the same, Souvenir's Young America's ability to form smooth transitions from sections of songs that sound like whale mating calls to genuinely rocking Neurosis/Sabbath style grooves is what makes this music stand out to my ears.
Now to the part where I make my gripes known. One grievance that I developed as I listened to An Ocean Without Water was with the annoying abundance of pseudo arty synth patches that would have been better placed in the score of a 1930s science fiction film to illustrate the cosmic wonder of a person being beamed up into a hubcap flying saucer with a very visible rope. I get it guys. You're deep. Moving on. But on the whole this is a beautiful piece of music, and whether you're seeking a heavier alternative to the post rock/ambient movement or simply something to relax and clear your mind with, An Ocean Without Water is a worthy musical accompaniment.
Official Souvenir's Young America Website
Official Crucial Blast Records Website
