Codes In The Clouds – Paper Canyon

15Apr09

Since the release of their Fractures/Distant Street Lights double A-side, expectations for Codes In The Clouds’ debut have been somewhat high. That release, while only the two songs, captured the band’s sound perfectly – big and bold, with a cinematic flair which set them aside from their peers.

Recording an album that met those expectations must have been a pretty unenviable task, then: many post rock bands who are fantastic in their own rights can come across as sounding derivative and unoriginal; so much focus placed on those highly scaled guitars that the bottom frequencies suffer as a result. However, the band have clearly taken their time with the record, and have enlisted the help of ex-yourcodenameis:milo man Justin Lockley. The result is an album that is layered and textured, splashes of ambience and piano throughout. And when it kicks in, it really kicks in, heavier guitar parts packing a low-end wallop that other post-rock bands can sorely lack.

Highlights? Well, the whole thing is simply staggering –  every note, every measure of music feels like it’s been picked through, perfected before being committed to record. The delicately crafted opening crescendo of Fractures sets that tone; measured and restrained in it’s build up; all hell breaking loose for the crescendo. Following that, Don’t Go Awash…does something very brave – giving a post-rock song a verse-chorus structure. It pays off in spades, though; those choruses are some of the boldest moments on the album.
The real highlights fall within the second half of the album, in the one-two punch of We Anchor In Hope and You Are Not What You Think You Are. The former is beautiful and swooning, utilising layers of strings to create a slow burning, blissful crescendo. The latter is a ten-minute, heart-wrenching epic; from a slow buildup, in typical post rock style, to huge crescendous passages, via air raid siren guitars and deeply buried layers of sound. The final, breathtaking climax leaves you breathless, speechless, so raw in it’s emotion that it’s hard not to be overcome.

What Codes In The Clouds have crafted is an album for the spring, one full of emotion and power. It’s music for the thaw, to warm the heart after what’s been a mostly disappointing winter in the post-rock scene. At it’s most mellow moments Paper Canyon echoes Explosions In The Sky at their most romantic, and at it’s most dizzying highs it matches the raw, moving power of Mono. An absolutely essential debut from the most exciting young post rock band in Britain, screaming ambition from every ringing chord.

Filed under: Music, Reviews   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: album, alternative, ambient, codes in the clouds, paper canyon, post-rock, review