Ef - Mourning Golden Morning
Rating
RIYL
Immanu ElSeptember Malevolence
Scraps of Tape
Caspian
Release Date
04/01/2010
Label
And The Sound RecordsTracklist
1. Escapade #12. Sons of Ghosts
3. K-141 KYPCK
4. Longing for Colors
5. Fyra
6. 401-Lwa
7. Alp Lugens, And Beyond
8. Au Revoir, Dear Traitor (Japanese Bonus)
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Sundays are thought typically to be a day of rest from the hectic workweek that devours our minds and guts out our souls. Sure, you’ve got both Friday night and Saturday to kick back and relax, but if you’re doing that every week you’ve probably got a hole in your social skills and need to reevaluate your life. Usually those two days are spent partying it up, and almost always with drink in hand; a week's worth of fun compounded into a day and a half or less. That brings us to Sunday. The one chance to recover from a weekend’s worth of nights you’re never bound to remember before the hellish workweek starts over again and you’re forced into acting like a productive member of society. But before all of that, there’s the sluggish, carefree atmosphere that Sunday usually seems to be kicking around. And with that, there couldn’t possibly be a better atmosphere to enjoy Sweden’s post-rock outfit Ef and their third studio release, Mourning Golden Morning.
The album begins much like either of Ef’s previous two releases with a slow, soothing opener displaying strings, a bit of reverb, and not much else but filler, which is “Escapade #1”. This song marks not only the album's introduction, but also the introduction to the extremely uplifting “Sons of Ghosts” as a single piano key joins the two. Throughout the duration of the song, the band manages to glide effortlessly while still rising and falling, speeding up and slowing down. All this comes to a head when the male / female vocals subtly subdue the song into a dream-like trance before rapidly building up into a barrage led by the percussion of Niklas Åström breaking into a steady climb of heart wrenching strings and brass, a stellar indication of what’s next.
“K-141 KYPCK” trudges on at a sweltering and frenetic pace in a Jackson Pollock orderly manner, splashing reds and blues and yellows of anxious guitar and bass riffs akin to Red Sparrows. With the organized chaos now in place, it allows for Ef to take to Pollock’s famous “drip” technique; the music now flowing elegantly onto a littered canvas to form silky cinematic images until finally erupting once more into grandeur. Ef put their vocal chords into use once more on the eloquent “Longing for Colors”, and again the soft and gentle pairing of male and female vocals sets the tone for a dreamscape against a backdrop of beautifully executed riffs and instilling relaxing images of breezy ocean views from atop a cliff and various other wide open landscapes.
The album's standout is a step furthest into the unknown from what Ef are ever so used to. “401-Lwa” relies heavily on percussion once more, this time paying special attention to the bass drum and toms, before exploding into snare fills and cymbals crashing every which way. With this, guitarists Tomas Torsson and Daniel Öhman lay down swelling guitar licks that seem to fight notions of the assault about to take place. At its climax, “401-Lwa” is led briefly into battle by charging guitars and a drum kit so battered and bruised it’s reminiscent of a less abrasive Russian Circles / Caspian hybrid, fused together with a non-electronica based 65daysofstatic . Ef do the “doom and gloom” so well that it almost seems nothing but a natural progression.
Taking from what made their debut Give Me Beauty... Or Give Me Death! so memorable, Ef have not only built upon this but have further incorporated even more heart fluttering, awe inspiring emotion. Here on Mourning Golden Morning, Ef pay tribute to their deceased past in the form of eulogizing while moving forward with great strides of progression. Sundays and slow days are pointless without Ef.
--Daniel Alcinii
Comments
Wisconsin
i am responsible was incredible. i need to check this out.
PA
I can't wait for this. Give me Beauty..is fantastic. I am responsible was very disappointing imo.
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Toronto, Ontario
I wasn't the biggest fan of I Am Responsible either, but Give Me Beauty... and Mourning Golden Morning are both fantastic.
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Minnesota
I dunno... this was good, but all of Ef's stuff I've never felt was truly awe-inspiring. It's competent post-rock for sure... but I don't think it's anything more than just that.
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