Pelican
Forever Becoming

Back in 2003, a quartet from Evanston, in the heart of the United States, spat out a rocky lump like "Australasia". Welcomed as manna from heaven by sludge lovers, that disc has probably remained the group's high point. Much like the vast majority of musical entities, the passing of years has slowly led them to a decline in ideas, even before performance, despite some good signs, like "City of Echoes" (2007). Since that CD, the Pelican lost much of the trust a good number of fans had bestowed upon them. Contributing to this was the fact that for a long time the rather dull "What We All Come to Need" was the last point of reference to scrutinize which shores the pelican was soaring towards. It took 4 years (and the departure of guitarist Laurent Schroeder) before listening to "Forever Becoming", released in October 2013.

Throughout their career, Pelican have sought to vary things a little, while refusing sudden changes. The record in question continues along these lines, towards that compositional softening with which the Herweg brothers have progressed over the years. The initial sludge beatings have been increasingly softened, leading to a combination of metal riffs and post-rock openings. A sort of marriage between Russian Circles and the guitar textures typical of acts like Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. This latest work incorporates this stylistic journey and the result is a predictable yet noteworthy album. It is difficult to find originality in a band, and more generally in a genre, that makes repetition and compositional systematicity two of its main features. If the distorted reverbs of "Terminal" quickly dissolve with post-rock flavored guitars, "Deny The Absolute" is a pleasant return to the abrasiveness of an album like "City of Echoes". There's everything an old Pelican fan would want to hear. But that the songwriting is not excellent is demonstrated by "The Tundra", an anonymous piece that spirals into a cascade of riffs saying little to nothing.

It must be credited to Pelican, however, for not overturning their formula when the results would have pushed for an attempt. "Forever Becoming" is a typically Pelican work, even within the aforementioned "sound softening" path: "The Cliff" is the epitome of this concept, with an opening led by a bass that reeks of stoner and then dismantles to give way to a "liquid", enchanting second part. A statement that with a "copy and paste" is also true for the concluding "Perpetual Dawn", the dawn that closes the fifth studio album by the Americans.

"Forever Becoming" is a workmanlike album, which shifts little in their discography. Far from brushing the glories of the first two cries, it positions itself in the wake of the "Ataraxia/Taraxis" EP that had partly anticipated the characteristics of FB. Faithful to their musical idea, Pelican continue to fly the same path and this time do not fail. But once again we're faced with a gray album, destined to perish in the very narrow circle of genre enthusiasts.

1. "Terminal" (3:28)
2. "Deny The Absolute" (5:35)
3. "The Tundra" (5:12)
4. "Immutable Dusk" (7:01)
5. "Threnody" (8:08)
6. "The Cliff" (4:06)
7. "Vestiges" (7:15)
8. "Perpetual Dawn" (9:28)