Search - Gregor Samsa :: 55:12

...Remember Days When We Were So Young and Old...

M. Dyess | 04/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gregor Samsa are a Virginia-based indie/post rock outfit who were formed in 2001 out of the downfall of a few other indie bands. Since that time, the band has put two exceptional EPs under their belt: a self titled release, and 27:36. The band are known for their somber, cascading melodies which are often times created from a very basic indie/shoegazer premise. Combining this with a quiet, and usually very prominent, post rock atmosphere and sound, has attracted attention from many different people of various musical backgrounds. Recently, they found a home for their new album and first full length on The Kora Records, a Washington DC based label. Recorded over a year and a half ago, this release has been a long awaited gem for many people, including myself.



If anything is apparent upon first playing this album, it's that just as they demonstrated on their EPs, this band is not out to make cheery and/or happy music. This is an album to be listened to closely and to be appreciated for what it is (on a rainy or snowy day, if at all possible). A wide range of emotion is shown throughout this disc's near-hour running time and not just simply by the vocals, but by the music and atmosphere itself.



As the opening track slowly begins with a quiet guitar melody over soft ambience, you are given an idea of what to expect for the next fifty-plus minutes. Being one of the shorter songs on the album, the track quickly introduces both male and female vocalists, Champ Bennet and Nikki King, each of which sounds heavenly in his or her own right. It should be noted and even applauded that neither of these vocalists overstay their welcome in each respective song. In fact, for the most part, the music on this album does the talking, painting a canvas of emotion that few lyricists or vocalists would even bother trying to match. However, when these two do allow themselves to compliment the music, they excecute it flawlessly. Much of the time, the two alternate roles within each song, briefly letting one another say what needs to be said. In some cases, and with great success, dual vocal melodies are used. This is demonstrated incredibly in songs such as "These Points Balance" and "Young and Old", both epic songs that I cannot help but compare to Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, and at times Dredg.



Both of the aforementioned tracks, and quite a few others on the album, use prominent reverb-heavy guitar melodies over quiet ambience. This may seem repetitive to some, which may be a justified accusation; however, these songs and the imagery created within them wouldn't be nearly as powerful if the band decided to include random or forced musical transitions. Of course, the album isnt entirely one dimensional either. Songs like "Even Numbers" and the previously mentioned "Young and Old" do pick up the pace, if only to enhance the moods or build on the melodies of each. At times, this album can be downright depressing and even give a slight sense of horror or anguish. The eerie, troubling "We'll Lean That Way Forever" more than supports this claim with it's near four minutes of haunting ambience and whispered, tortured, inaudible spoken word passage from Nikki King.



As the final words are spoken and a lone guitar melody comes to a close, I find myself hard-pressed to find even the smallest of flaws within this album. Each and every goal that Gregor Samsa set out to conquer within this album has been fully realized and executed with incredible beauty. I believe that any fan of artistic and well thought out music, be it heavy or melodic, should at least give this album a try. In the end maybe few to none of us will fully understand the statement, if any, the band has attempted to make with this album. I, for one, am simply grateful that I allowed myself to listen and observe.



--Matthew Dyess"

Dreamy and dreary, lovely and secretly dark and foreboding

Aquarius Records | San Francisco | 04/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure what message is sent by naming your band Gregor Samsa, but judging from this, the first proper full length from these Virginia post-math-mope rockers, it could be as simple and obvious as 'metamorphosis'. Each track here is a lush, lugubrious crawl, slithery and subtle, dark reverbed chords drift in wide open spaces, a blurry druggy soundscape, the drums sort of creep along WAY back in the background, a distant thud, a simple pulse, ethereal female vocals drift soft and angelic, sometimes hovering sweetly beside the whispery croon of her male foil, but most of the tracks shift at some point, build into a darkly brooding wave of thick guitars and keening melodies.



But this isn't your typical post rock, quiet soft / loud heavy thing, as GS never really get heavy. Instead they deftly ratchet up the emotion, choosing to not stomp on the fuzz box, but instead to quietly maneuver the music into a much more intense space. It's this intensity that manages to convey more pathos than a distorted guitar ever could in this context. This is dreamy and dreary, lovely and secretly dark and foreboding, with occasional swells of thick guitar, keening melody and a brooding malevolence, like Low with Mogwai tendencies, or drifting on a black, musical moonlit sea, slow and serene and absolutely breathtaking.



Packaged in a gorgeous letterpressed thick cardstock sleeve, with a silver inked Japanese style obi. Wow!"