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Rating: Sometimes it happens. And, when it happens, it's funny.
It's funny to think that the Scottish Aereogramme, known to the public for being among the godfathers - and founders - of the so-called post-rock movement, decide to disband after ten years of honorable career, just at a time when the entire structure of post-rock is beginning to show the first cracks and falter due to a lack of ideas. And all of this is also a bit strange, because Aereogramme cannot be simply categorized as "post-rock": it means everything, and it means nothing. And, nowadays, this nomenclature may not be as pleasing as it once was.
In ten years, Aereogramme have done pretty much as they pleased. In their songs, in their albums, they have fused together progressive rock -the true and proper foundational pillar of their sound- with orchestral pop rock, with dense and ethereal ambient atmospheres, with sudden bursts of hard rock or even more extreme and intense genres (just think of the split done with Isis, one of the early creatures, in the New Millennium, of the hardcore/sludge metal scene). Despite the first consequence of this miscellany being a lack of visibility under the spotlight, the four from Glasgow managed to appeal to a bit of everyone - if by "everyone" we mean the small group that fills the ranks of alternative music-.
It seemed inconceivable to think about a breakup of the band. Not after that ivory gem "A Story In White" (2001), which represented their explosive debut, nor with the sophisticated strings and electrolytic play of the following "Sleep And Release," two years later. Not to mention the aforementioned split with Isis, "In The Fishtank 14," which more than any other helped project them into the imagination of good music enthusiasts and, above all, fervent supporters of "contamination."
And yet, it is so. In the spring of 2007, they bid farewell to the crowds with a final album, with a poetically long title ("My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go"), announcing their imminent separation at the end of their respective promotional tour. But this separation has a bittersweet aftertaste. The farewell album turns out to be, in fact, a partial response to the dilemma posed at the start of the review. If it's true that post-rock, as we understand it, reveals to the world the first compositional apneas, it is also true that Aereogramme are no exception and, in part, lack oxygen along with the entire genre. In simpler words, the threads of the piece imply what the terrible disease was, creeping among the Scots, to such an extent that it prevented any further artistic growth. Predictability.
And it's a real shame: the opener "Conscious Life For Coma Boy" faithfully represents the best of what has been heard in progressive rock of the New Millennium, Mogwai permitting. The brilliant contrast between the distorted and resounding guitars of the beginning, and the piano and incorporeal voices of the refrain, seems to be the best possible calling card, a real kick in the stomach - painless, of course - to all the critics of "new rock," some more, some less. And yet, after a rocket start, the album gradually loses steam.
Predictability, as we said. A word that, in fact, does not enter into the skeleton of "Conscious Life For Coma Boy" but which, unfortunately, encompasses much of the subsequent tracks. Already from the following "Barriers," it is clear that something has changed: the melancholic voice of Craig B, supported by a truly substantial string ensemble, works really well: but it's the total duration that shouts scandal. A five-minute ballad is really hard to endure in its entirety, especially if the rhythms do not accelerate and remain peaceful and sleepy from start to finish. The main problem with the following tracks is that there is no sign of aggression, not even a sound imprint that is at least presumable, with the intricate prog machinery completely dissolved. All that remains is the orchestral melody, which can be fine for three, four tracks, but becomes really excessive for eight. For heaven's sake, nothing to say, the symphonies that emanate from the cd, although far too baroque, are more than appreciable: pompousness, after all, always has a certain charm. Thus, one can fully appreciate the delightful acoustic arpeggio opening "Exits," or even the cut'n'paste hints that appear in the timid "Finding A Light," as well as the very delicate, concluding "You're Always Welcome," dominated by a harmonious interplay of voice and piano, and the dark wave that permeates, with its oppressive shadow, the prophetic "Nightmares." But what is really missing, in the best cases, is a certain compositional freshness, or a winning idea that can drive a piece from start to finish. Everything melts and mixes among itself, without being clearly distinct, as was the case in previous works. The song that perhaps escapes the rule, and is capable of keeping its honor high, is "Trenches," a sort of genetic cross between Enya's somnolence, Mogwai's mastery, Eluvium's fairytale atmospheres, and the noble and choral accelerations of Sigur Rós.
It hurts the heart a bit to listen to "My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go." It's a bit like saying goodbye to a dear friend, the one who marked your days, without however not feeling a sense of relief. It's like having known them pure and honest, and abandoning them brazen and false. Here, perhaps this is the true origin of the "illness" of Aereogramme: having yielded to a small offer of popularity, and with it a broader success and, surely, also MTV. Teenage syrup, the harshest might think on a superficial listen, and perhaps they aren't entirely wrong. One thing is certain: the cd can be listened to with pleasure, in its bland smoothness, neither praise nor blame. And that might be enough for someone. But from a band that in ten years has always proven to know how to renew itself, with creations each time astonishing, one expected something more and, above all, something qualitatively different.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Conscious Life for Coma Boy (04:30)
Potent mix of wonder
Ignorance and fear
A place to hide under
A secret place to keep
Self serving answers
Paper-thin belief
Bury your soul with me
I know I'd like
A conscious life
I don't know how to get there
I don't know how to get there
So keep me right
We're wasting time
I don't know how to get there
I don't know how
Awaken
Stand up and and fight
For all you've yet to know
Coma boy
Bloated rich endeavour
Are necessary care
There's something I should bury
There's something I should share
Listen for doubting ramblings
And you'll find me there
Bury your soul with me
I know I'd like
A conscious life
I don't know how to get there
I don't know how to get there
So keep me right
We're wasting time
I don't know how to get there
I don't know how
I don't know how
I don't know how
I don't know how
I don't know how
Awaken
Stand up and and fight
For all you've yet to know
Coma boy
It's not something to love or hate
But don't you dare go throw it away
May you be all you can
Coma boy
02 Barriers (04:55)
I thought the fight was over
All battles won
I thought you'd lit your blindfolds
Watch them burn
I thought that I could show you
All that I've found
But barriers dictate all sight and all sound
I found love in the loneliest places
Places I shouldn't have found
I found love in the home of a sinner
Wrapped in some bitter sweet song
Let me tell the truth
Let me come alive
Let me build bridges into your life
I'm sick of being torn
Again and again
I don't need permission to let you in
You noticed how we talk and how
We play our games
Leather bound appeal to
Change our ways
All I wanted was to show you
All that I've found
No exits, no answers, no prophecy bound
But I found love in the loneliest places
Places I shouldn't have found
I found love in the home of a sinner
Wrapped in some bitter sweet song
Oh, let me tell the truth
And let me come alive
Let me build bridges into your life
I'm sick of being torn again and again
I don't need conditions to let you in
I never meant to hurt you or
Drive you away
The barriers we've built, looks like there
Here to stay
03 Exits (04:16)
It's not my choice to be here There's been a little mood I've never found an exit and I doubt I'll find one soon I cursed you all for leaving Pushed you all away Oh how long will this last Will I stay Won't you help me to find A way out Some exits A lifeline But will I only come out To a bigger room And we've all got exits We keep on running to So grab yourself a bottle It's yours as much as mine We'll toast the air the sky And anything that we can't find Won't you help me find A way out Some exits A lifeline There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen There's no way out No way out Might not be needing this oxygen
07 Trenches (04:08)
Well
We've been building our trenches
And wait out alone
For some hint or suggestion
Of better things to come
So listen, listen, please
I won't wait any more
Let me run through the water
Let me drink in the sea
Let me run through the water
Just to pick me up again
Taken hold of our sense
And we can always be
Anything we wanted
You know that I love you
But I can't let go
You know that I love you
But I can't let go
May you always be
May you always be
May you always be
May you always be
Loved
08 Nightmares (04:05)
Nightmares en route to Dallas
Born out of one bad habit
One filled with lust and fire
Unconcious, dark desire
One riddled with guilt and pain
To shame our family name
My head is caving in
And now
Only love can save me now
Only love can save me
This rotten mouth and fading memory
Self-inflicted awful injury
Leads to a vengeful heart
Which tears can't brake apart
My head is caving in
My head is caving in
My head is caving in
And now
Only love can save me now
Only love can save me now
Only love can save me now
Only love can save me now
09 The Running Man (03:33)
I lost my way in '87
And turned my heart and thoughts to heaven
A foolish boy
What could you do?
Aged eleven
I thought I was open but I was closed
I thought I had answers to show the world
I thought that the good light would guide me home
For thirteen years I hid away
And waited out the final days
But now there's time to live my life
As it decays
As it decays
I thought I was open but I was closed
I thought I had answers to show the world
I thought that the good light would guide me home
But no
As it decays
I thought I was open but I was closed (As it decays)
I thought I had answers to show the world (As it decays)
I thought that the light would guide me home
But no
10 You're Always Welcome (05:08)
The lights that come in and out of my life,
I'll write I'll rerecord these times,
The grail and the meadow
The excess disease
Some passing of family, frustration released
You have a home here
You have a place to hide
You're always welcome
And you're more than I can say
The night you showed me I could see,
I praised the Lord for drunken honesty,
A master of patience to put up with me
Some surrogate brother I wanted to be
You have a home here
You have a place to hide
You're always welcome
All this I know
You're more than I can show
May your days be golden
May it always surround you
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