Relieved Anxiety

The Japanese group Toe when releasing their debut The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety must have come to conclusion to release something dynamic and free. While at heart their debut is a calming, melodic post-rock affair, it adds interesting stop and go rhythm sections within the bulk of some of the album, a clear math rock influence. What is telling about Toe's work on this album is their clear potential to become more. Their dynamic, yet limited buildups aren't the ones you hear from traditional, uproarious, and grandiose groups like Explosions In The Sky! or more traditionally Godspeed You! Black Emperor; instead their clean shaven take on guitar structure and fantastic drumming by Kashikura Takashi is what matters the most. Rarely, if ever are piano structures, obscure samples, or electronics of any kind are introduced within The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety, which frankly is impressive.

The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety is at its core a strict representation of a minimalist post-rock affair. Its structures carry on by themselves without a huge ambient uplifting or pretentious, high-flying strings to back up any track. The album moves smoothly as it should, but Takashi's skill is exceptional, he carries this album with his smooth, diverse drumming. Amazingly it doesn't tire at all. Stylishly the band approaches an almost back-and-forth method between the rhythm portion of the album and its percussion - at times silencing out one to showcase the other, as seen in "Past and Language". The album moves freely without hesitation or uncertainty, making the music so effective, but the parts not whole is really only needed as the structures don't need to be completely built up in an awe-inspiring 10-20 minute epic, but a melodic, serene, more or less peaceful 5 minutes of them almost jamming. Oddly enough this perception of them in a free-form basis of jamming is clearly not a reality because the rhythm structures and percussion fills are exceptional at their timings all over this debut.

The biggest strength of this Toe's debut is their patience within these tracks. Unlike other short, quick outbursts such as Grails, Toe still find themselves building the song suitable to their strengths and comfort zone. When they decide to trek outside of these waters, they're very minimal, in an experimented quick duration as seen in "Music For You" and "反逆する風景". When the group decides to ramp up a song, they do so immediately from the inner-workings of Takashi and by doing so carve out a quick, tasteful foundation to start off on, evidence by "I Still Do Wrong". While their stripped-down approach that feels almost too pure for most post-rock listeners, they seem to take their strides from Do Make Say Think and their label associates Mouse On The Keys and Enemies. What The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety accomplishes is a rhythm section that is entirely tight and sustained, that at times should feel timid or stale, but the drumming is frankly superb, allowing the band to reach new heights. The prime detriment that can be attributed to this is by far the lack of vibrancy within the material. Sure it's consistent, but it seems a bit hollow in small sections, which can only be the major setback with their debut.

Grade: B

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Can You Attempt To Try?

Jeniferever's formation nearly 15 years ago has showed little progression up to this point. Their name as and hilarious as it seems is derived from the same song made by the Smashing Pumpkins in 1989. Clearly influenced by the group, the lead singer Kristofer Jönson's vocals are obviously a similar style as of Corgan's, but unlike Corgan it isn't exactly warranted in key situations. A string of EPs from 2001-2004 showed the potential the band possessed with their post-rock climaxes and indie lyricism, light melodic instrumentals, and soft-spoken lyrics. Clearly Choose A Bright Morning was an overdue debut, created 10 years after their formation. A solid debut by the quartet, but it was clearly held back by the lack of progression in their instrumentals and non-chalant vocals. 2 years after they released an underwhelming EP called Nangijala, clearly showing they haven't jumped any hurdles up to this point. Not exactly anticipated, the 2009 release Spring Tides still shows the passive vocal upbringings by Jönson and the traditional, albeit underwhelming ambient and post-rock driven climaxes that are so ingrained in their band. Much like the approach Sigur Ros take on post-rock and The Appleseed Cast's style of indie rock, Jeniferever would seem to be a crossroads to those bands. Regrettably it doesn't seem to be worthwhile up this point in their career.

If Jeniferever show something correct in their style it's by far their melodic instrumentals that coat piece of music they've made. While Jeniferever don't exactly hypnotize or captivate any one by any means with their style "Ox-Eye" does it correctly. Progressing slowly in the background remains the guitars and ambient feedback, while Jönson calmly expresses his longing for a better present with his long-time friend. Much like their Nangijala EP the appearance of piano is brought back, if so rarely in St. Gallen, For half of the 6 minute affair, Jönson is thankfully absent, but his non-impressionable lyrical content and still, utterly, non-energetic vocals mares the track. Thus, it comes again, the not-so-interesting vocal talents of Jeniferever. Honestly, the only fans I can see could be mildly interested in this band's vocal talents would be amainstream pop-punk fan with an infatuation with boring vocal talent, but we all know that won't happen when those very fans probably have no idea what the hell post-rock even is.

Noticeably it would be Jönson himself bogs down the group, he doesn't lead or stay in the forefront throughout the entire album as a "front man" should. After all, his only job is keyboards and vocals, yet he shows no promise since their formation. Like Choose A Bright Morning, Jeniferever still struggle to find a common thread between post-rock melodies, indie rock, and very passionate, yet unimpressionable vocalist. They still are hit-n-miss with their post-rock atmosphere, usually the latter is the culprit. I might of had an epiphany while listening to Spring Tides. Not exactly revolutionary by any means, most if not all of the best post-rock groups are energetic in some form or another. Drumming becoming the key in most instances, while Godspeed, You Black Emperor! choose to slowly and effortlessly climax their music at the right time, Jeniferever really don't do that to warrant any attention. There are a few instances where they work in "Ox-Eye", "Nangijala" and "The Hourglass", but it gets to the point where I find myself truly uninterested with the whole process with Jönson wallowing in his own self-restraint. Expectations were truly low after hearing Nangijala EP, but this has yet to truly capture my attention in any shape or form. I find myself asking why do I keep my interest in this band, is it because of their style is rarely seen in post-rock or because post-rock seems to be declining at a abysmal rate. Jeniferever can't seem to perfect either of the two and unlike my previous, even if they're were low aspirations for them, I find myself ignoring the very prospect of another release by them.

Grade: D+

Expanding Into Mediocrity

From Fathoms is the follow-up to a relatively successful debut called Loyal Eyes Betrayed The Mind. While it may not have had the sprawling, overabundant, and sometimes over flamboyant style as a traditional post-rock groups go, their style is quite rare in the genre and is still thought after as a post-rock band first then second. Loyal Eyes Betrayed The Mind was for the most part, purely guitar driven. Their style could be compared to another relatively odd post-rock group called Grails or even Russian Circles. Yet, with their small existence they carved up a solid record with some interesting results. Showing their musical roots with "Early Morning Ambulance", the unmistakable post-rock influence in "In The Company of Others", while flexing electronic backgrounds in "Miles of White". 3 years after showing some promise, the group have released From Fathoms this year.

Easily throughout the album you notice a key element within most of these songs: they're crafted well enough for you to enjoy, but once you begin to attach yourselves to a brief period of their pandering in their uproarious guitar lifts in their short post-rock extravaganzas you immediately succumb to disappointment with its short time span. While the electronic influences are in full-form and aren't skimmed over as they were in Loyal Eyes Betrayed The Mind it isn't enough to keep the listener interested entirely. Oddly enough vocals are in play, if vaguely you consider them a part of the song. Almost Isis-like in nature, but entirely toned down, From Fathoms plays around with low, muddled, and mostly unrecognizable lyrics, while the previous album strayed from all of this. There are a rare exceptions to this rule: a quick assault of post-rock sweetness is ferocious and beautiful in the short span of 4 minutes in "Weightless Frame" and completely switches up halfway through with acoustic strings, harmonized vocals that can only be determined to be something-like "Come" being hymned, even imploring to use the harmonica for some brief periods in its later half. That may be the best example to see how far they're trying to reach here, yet they still encompass some of those elements throughout the album in short spans, it just doesn't work as it should. The lone perfections within this album is by far "Resurface" and "Thawed Horizon", which successfully melds all of what was meant to be on this album, gradually pushing forward with high-paced eruption of post-rock and passionate vocals.

Those relatively new sounds components are what signals Gifts From Enola's newest album is really about. Their previously minimalistic influences are brought to the forefront along for the ride with their post-rock glory. This may sound all well and good, but there's one trying problem. Unfortunately it doesn't always work, from the electronic transitions, post-rock traditional appearances of strings, and yes the power cord sort as well. Much like Russian Circles' debut Enter impressed, their follow-up Station wasn't anything progressive and only mildly interesting. Gifts From Enola suffers the same fate, not with its non-progressive thought process, but their problems to establish a single unity within its structure from all its directionless deliberation. "Weightless Thought" sounds like a rendition of "Weightless Frame", only the opposite with an dreary and calm electronic transition. Understandably they're linked, but the song adds nothing to the process and is only time wasted. From Fathoms sees a band trying to reach too far, with too much in their hands. It's fantastic that they're trying to expand their sound with a different approaches, if not for a few inspired moments within most of these songs this would feel entirely mediocre and as a result From Fathoms can't help, but feel cluttered.

Grade: C