Last Minute To Jaffna - Volume III review
| Band: | Last Minute To Jaffna |
| Album: | Volume III |
| Style: | Post-metal |
| Release date: | January 24, 2014 |
| A review by: | R'Vannith |
01. Chapter V
02. Chapter XIII
03. Chapter XXV
04. Chapter VI
05. Chapter XI [live]
Metal awash with the down-tempo depressions of slowcore; this is Last Minute To Jaffna's relaxing rebuke to unoriginality. The resulting sound in Volume III is hypnotic and psychedelic, breathed into life with Italian acoustic. For a post-metal album, it's an unusual experience.
There is an ease of linearity in the direction this record takes, a simplicity and flow in the approach which belies the distinctive hybrid of a shuffling tempo in the downcast alternative rock, with metallic tones enmeshed within its surface textures. The infusion of brass instrumentation in "Chapter XIII" emerges charismatically to the surface and provides an equally identifiable distinction alongside the continual acoustic.
The psychedelic components which are consistently at play in the background here have lambency to them that slowly shimmers thanks to sufficient production as the music is directed by metallic guitar lines, the gentle yet dense press of drums providing constancy to the rhythmic qualities of the experience.
The vocal delivery is often an unfortunate discomfort in the warm bed generated by the effective instrumentation. The arrangements do perpetuate the generally laid-back style in a performance which clearly aims for the psychedelic, yet fail to deliver upon what is offered by the accompanying instruments, which are used to construct rather long durations of a persistent kind of sound characterised by the grain of acoustic. There is little deviation from the style set from the album's opening, and by the conclusion in the live rendition of the track entitled "Chapter XI," the material fades quickly from memory.
Having said that, each track offers slight variation to the style as they play, particularly where the brass instrumentation is involved, and in a post-metal fashion they each possess their own climactic build-ups and culminating crescendos, even if their heaviness neither ascends nor descends but remains at a constant weighted tone.
Volume III is the band's second full length recording and demonstrates further experimentations in psychedelia, which are evidently still in the process of development, offering an experience more intriguing than memorable.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 6 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 7 |
 | Written on 22.08.2014 by R'Vannith enjoys music, he's hoping you do too. |
Comments
Comments: 6
Visited by: 47 users
| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
This isn't the first review I've read that claims this to be some kind of heavy, psychedelic metal album, when in my eyes that couldn't be further from an accurate description. This album is quite relaxing, I'll give you that, but on the whole it sounds like a fairly plain, laidback acoustic alt-rock album. "Chapter VI" is the closest thing to "heavy" on this album, and even that barely qualifies. Am I not listening to the same thing as everyone else? This is the same album, right?
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Korah Posts: 350  |
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| Ilham Giant robot Posts: 5161  |
I disagree, the cover is nice. The subject is not beautiful itself, but it's very well rendered. I'm intrigued, this either sounds like it's going to bore me to death or go very well with breakfast. I'll play a couple of tracks tomorrow and see how that goes.
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.08.2014 at 21:35 I suppose the heaviness to it depends upon the perspective from which you look at it. In terms of slowcore or a laidback acoustic-rock album, as you describe it there, it's heavy enough to be considered metal. In terms of metal though it's actually fairly light, definitely fitting at the lighter end of the metal spectrum. I think it sits pretty comfortably in between metal and a slowcore sound, any "heaviness" to it comes from the metal elements. It's also psychedelic to me, in a lackadaisical, whimsical or laidback sort of way, not the overtly trippy kind. Also, I think it's interesting that an album this light on the metal side made it past the armed guards at MetalArchives: http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Last_Minute_to_Jaffna/3540323501 The style they've got it tagged as is way off to me though. 
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by R'Vannith on 23.08.2014 at 07:42 I think we have a very different distinction of what is metal in that case. This album is an acoustic reworking of previously released material, so I'm not quite sure what's metal about it, aside from the style of the original songs. Not that the genre is my primary concern, but it seems strange to me seeing people call this heavy when it's about as crushing as Agalloch's White EP. Regardless of what people call it, it's still fairly uninteresting and samey.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.08.2014 at 07:50 This one isn't completely divorced from what the band had already written for earlier recordings, but I understand what you mean. There's certainly less metal to it than what you'd expect with all the descriptions of "heavy" being put to it, heavy being a key characteristic of... well "heavy metal." The metal style of the band continues here I think, albeit in a lighter state, similar to what a lot of post-metal bands do if they incorporate more of a rock, less of a metal edge to their style for a recording. I suppose you could consider it as a transitional sort of album, from metal further into that alternative acoustic rock or slowcore, if you like.
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