The End Of The Ocean
Pacific Atlantic

If they could be defined through a mathematical equation, one might say that: Sigur Ròs : ether = The End of the Ocean : water .

Certainly, from the name of the band and the titles given to the individual tracks of this full-length album, it would seem that The End of the Ocean are indeed obsessed with everything concerning the sea and traveling by water.

However, it would be foolish to focus solely on the nomenclature, because in reality, these five “sailors” from Ohio (whether they are truly sailors is doubtful, as I have no knowledge concerning the biographies of the members) have in fact created, thanks also to the visual proposal of the cover, a true “concept” project, where the sea and everything that might concern it, reigns supreme over everything.

The listening of this “Pacific•Atlantic” (2011) could therefore seem like a real sea voyage, rich with calm, storms, favorable winds, and introspection while gazing at the blue and infinite horizon of the ocean, akin to Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog”.

Musically speaking, Pacific•Atlantic might remind one, especially in the more melodic and dreamy situations, of the sounds in “Ett” by the Swedes Ef: melancholic and dreamy introductions that then suddenly take a turn towards positivity and hope through agile and explosive guitar riffs. However, there are also bolder bursts of distorted guitars and fast strumming, as in “May Be for the Better” or sweet and ethereal tracks  like “To Be Buried and Discovered Again”.

Perhaps what determines the 4-star victory are two songs in particular, the longest of the entire album (about ten minutes each): the opener “On The Long Road Home” and the closing “We Always Think There Is Going to Be More Time...”, rich with melodic and rhythmic variations that I consider well thought out and effective in introducing the listener into the work (for the former) and slowly abandoning them in the midst of a boundless expanse of water (for the latter).

A good album, therefore, but it does not reach the threshold of excellence: some tracks can be quite repetitive and a bit boring (if not banal) like “Verser From Our Captain” or “Southern Skies”. Not to mention the inevitable and overused delay in the guitars which, in my opinion, makes it all too saturated in a post-rock that is now leading many bands  to identify “just the same” with others similar.

Alvise - Hellviz