Constants - If Tomorrow The War
Rating
RIYL
ThriceCity of Ships
Jesu
Release Date
09/07/2010
Label
The Mylene SheathTracklist
01. Your Daughter's Eyes02. The Sun, The Earth
03. Maya Ruin
04. In Dreams
05. A Quiet Edifice
06. Spiders In White
07. Halloween In New Orleans
08. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
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After the critical success of their 2009 album The Foundation, the Machine, the Ascension, it’s safe to say that Constants became a band to watch as one of the heavy hitters in the post-rock world. Ever since their 2004 debut Nostalgia for the Future, the band has delivered one concept album after the next full of overarching story lines and unnoticeable song transitions. So what happens when they decide to write a concept-free, 37-minute record with each song averaging around four minutes long? A damn solid record that just might be the band’s best yet.
If Tomorrow the War represents Constants at their most straightforward. Although previous releases have shown them to be fully capable of big and bold rock songs, these moments were often strategically placed between dreamy and wandering sections. This time around, the band’s conscious decision to write shorter, stand-alone tracks ends up working for their benefit in a refreshing and unexpectedly heavy way. The sheer size of the overall sound on the record is surprising considering the fact that the band is a three-piece, and partial credit is certainly due to producer Justin K. Broadrick of Jesu. The vocals are front and center, allowing Will Benoit’s true colors as a prominent singer to shine more than ever. “Your Daughter’s Eyes” is an efficient opening track, but the following “The Sun, the Earth” succeeds as one of the highest points in Constants' history. The vocal harmonies are tight, the drums are savage, and the song never stops flying forward until its airy transition into the next track. The song is relentless with an underlying sense of hope that seems to carry throughout the album. Melodies soar on “In Dreams” and “A Quiet Edifice,” and these suckers are so catchy that they might just get stuck in your head, something that is hard to come by in post-rock.
While the guitars often blend into an indistinguishable mass, this mixing mix-up hardly takes away from the overall experience. Since Constants are a force to be reckoned with on stage, the album provides some hard-rocking tunes that are guaranteed to shine even brighter in a live atmosphere. If Tomorrow the War, then consider Constants ready for battle.
--Jeff VanVickle
Comments
Brooklyn, NY
good stuff. i'm with you all the way Jeff.
www.explodinginsound.com
Fishers, Indiana
I definitely hear the indistinguishable blob of music criticism. I think you could apply that to just about every one of their albums though. Hopefully that's what they're going for; it's not my thing, though.
I still dig em, production aside. Nice final line to your review, too.
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Portland, OR
They were probably going for the indistinguishable blob, since Will said that their producer really wanted to punch up the vocals. They probably don't appreciate us calling it a "mass" or a "blob," but I challenge them to find a better description. Thanks for the kind words.