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Rating: “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka begins like this: "One morning, upon awakening from restless dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself transformed into a gigantic insect."
What the Gregors Samsa have in common with Kafka's traveling salesman, I do not know, if not the impossibility of being normal, of being so different from others. Perhaps this is it: the quartet in question is decidedly different from the majority of musical groups (they have also recorded a “White Christmas”), even more so if you know their place of origin which is Richmond, Virginia, because their type of music is what you would expect from a band coming from the great north.
Preceded by the release of two splendid EPs in 2002 and 2003, "55:12" is their debut album released this year and the result is extraordinary. We are in the “post rock” realm, reminiscent of Mogwai and Sigur Ros, but even more expanded, ethereal, rarefied, managing to generate an overwhelming sense of relaxation, yet without creating any boredom or fatigue. Certainly a joy for the ears, penetrated not only by sumptuous melodies and bursts of refined power, but also by the ethereal double vocals (male and female) of Nikki King and Champ Bennet, who seek and manage to merge with the music in a perfect amalgam, in environments sometimes clear and full of light, sometimes dark and gloomy.
Let’s be clear, Gregor Samsa does not offer us new experiments or a new musical genre, what strikes in this album is the perfect distillation of the elements that make up the 8 tracks of "55:12", transporting us to “echoes-like” areas and making everything magnetic. Their sound is for a more intense space and this intensity can also generate a slight sense of fear in the ambient track "We'll Lean That Way Forever", but the beauty of this album can also be found in the exceedingly slowed down drums of "These Points Balance", in the strings of "Young And Old", in the extreme sweetness of "What I Can Manage", in the obsessiveness of "Even Numbers", in the crystalline transparency of "Lessening".
A formidable debut. A CD for those who demand something more from listening, for those who love to listen to deconstructed, suffering, obsessive tracks. For those who want to dream and travel while remaining still. Regards, Addison.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Makeshift Shelters (04:52)
Love all the things we've done wrong
And when we forget we can move on
And when we recall it makes us strong
We hope faith forever keeps us young
One more chance to fill (?)
Back and forth I can't go on
This is everything we (?)
if we took or disappear
so we find a weaker (?)
that can fall round and round
This is it.
This is it.
05 These Points Balance (07:41)
Soon they always end
The here becomes *******
Filling holes we never cut
One more thing I beg you
**So inside lift you up**
How to take and own it
When it's not quite understood
How long till I fall in love?
How long till I fall in love?
06 Young and Old (07:33)
How long, how long
Until I see you?
And when, and when does
The light come shining through?
Remember days when we were so young and
Remember days when we were so young and
We were so young and old
08 Lessening (06:36)
Faded tissues
Getting no sleep
Lay my head down
She walks back again
She takes her knife out
Eyes alert now
Holds my hands out
Cuts out the wrists
Please forgive me
It wasn't easy
Tears afraid
She sews me backup
Don't forget this
I'm the greatest
Lay my head
She walks back again
It's all ending now
(It's all ending now)
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