Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their best yet, 20 May 2007
Although I own all of 'Do Make Say Think's albums and have enjoyed them over the years I have always felt that even the better albums ('&yet &yet' and 'goodbye enemy airship') didn't quite get to where they were heading. This sense of exploration, of a journey rather than a destination, is of course what keeps them interesting, don't get me wrong, I like them for that, but this album just seems so much more complete.
Exploration is still very much part of the music, but this is exploration by a band that are now not only highly accomplished in what they do (essentially post rock but more jazzy and less apocalyptic) but who also seem to have moved into a new space.
Basically the main change seems to be the introduction of a more folky element to the mix, reminiscent perhaps of something like Akron/Family. But this is a much more grown up version than Akron/Family's controlled chaos or zappa-esque goofy musical shifts. Vocals, singing and chanting, are a major part of the new move but are not excessive, popping in only two or three times as stop off points amid the more free-flowing instrumental sections.
The final 'song' - 'in mind'- being one such vocal section, but the heavy distortion laid over what seems to be almost everything on the track sweeps the vocals beautifully up into the mix rather than letting them sit on top. Lyrically this last part shares something of the sentiments of the 'Flaming Lips' song 'Do You Realise' - albeit a more 'haiku' version - but again the overwhelming sweep of the music ensures this isn't too blatant, in fact the words are just on the edge of being distinguishable, which means they slip past in a kind of ecstatic flurry and only afterwards does their meaning seep out. This creates an intense and jubilant finale to an album that is, in my view, almost perfect.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A New Direction..., 12 Feb 2007
Being a fan of DMST for several years, I've seen the subtle changes in their style. The transition to bare-bones jazzy rock, back to electronic/production driven modal passages is clear. It is here, however, that DMST use the largest range of actual instruments and, for the first time, vocals. This albums is definately not what I was expecting; shorter, sometimes acoustic passages, less electronica, more prominent drums. Pop "sensibilities" are definately more abundant.
This feels quite experimental at times. Personally, the use of vocals should have been avoided. Sadly, the song they appear on "A With Living", is musically boring also. Where "Soul & Onward" used vocals as a backing sound, here, the voice is neither complementary to the music, nor distinguishable. However, in songs such as "A Tender History In Rust" and "In Mind", where acoustic, more melodic guitar passages are used, DMST show their star still shines. This blend of acoustic surf riffs and jazzy drums attones for the, rather bleak, start to the album. If you're a fan, get it. You can make up your own mind on whether the changes have taken positive effect. If you're new to them; try "& Yet & Yet" or "Goodbye Enemy Airship, The Landlord Is Dead", first.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rustin' Men (8.5/10), 26 Jun 2008
Apparently recorded in old barns in remote parts of Canada, post-rockers Do Make Say Think's `You You're A History In Rust' should be considered as one of the Great Albums Recorded in a Wooden Outhouse (TM), along with My Morning Jacket's `It Still Moves' (Grain Silo) and Bon Iver's `For Emma, Forever Ago' (Log Cabin). The Toronto band, also known for their contribution to Broken Social Scene's cacophonous indie-rock stew, make jazzy, largely instrumental post-rock, but in a looser and more jam-orientated fashion than some of their contemporaries (i.e., Godspeed!, Explosions in the Sky etc.).
Owing to it's raw recording methods, `You You're A History In Rust' acquires a textural abstraction that (especially on `In Mind') sees the band acquire some of the blissful dissonance of Christian Fennesz or Keven Shields. For `Rust' you could also easily read `rustic', and it's partly this reverb-thick naturalism that melds the different instrumentation together. While horns, banjo and bubble up stealthily from the mix, there is the natural scrape and clutter of the recording to fill in the gaps. This `found sound' gives the album a refreshingly unpolished and particular ambience, a sense of ontological connection to a certain time and place.
Although there are comparisons to be made with Mogwai circa Rock Action - albeit less baroque and melancholy, less Glaswegian - and to Tortoise's jazzy compositions - but more spontaneous and less mathematically plotted - they deserve to be considered on par with some of these big names in the scene. Unlike some of their post-rock contemporaries, their sound is not characterised by crescendos but by fluid shifts of mood, and a joyous rusticism. The scene has been moving further towards traditional country and rock roots, perhaps inspired by the naturalistic expansiveness of My Morning Jacket, and `You You're A History In Rust' stands as an early example of this paradigm shift. If you like this you should like any of the aforementioned artists or albums, as well as Grizzly Bear's `Yellow House', Broken Social Scene's `You Forgot it in People' and My Morning Jacket's `It Still Moves'.
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