Band:	Old Silver Key
Album:	Tales Of Wanderings
Style:	Post rock
Release date:	September 16, 2011
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. What Once Was And Will Never Happen Again
02. November Nights Insomnia
03. Cold Spring
04. Nineteen Winters Far Away From Home
05. Star Catcher
06. Burnt Letters
07. About Which An Old House Dreams

It's quite remarkable what Neige has achieved so far with the impact he had on the whole shoegaze-meets-metal phase. Not only did he make Alcest quite a name with just a few releases, but he also contributed to many other albums where he left his mark as well. The thing is he's way too involved in this and inevitably this pretty much has led to a saturation point. In no time the scene got filled with dozens of bands that started blooming like mushrooms all over the place. Even Drudkh softened their sound so as to invest into more shoegaze/post-rock oriented pathways, without leaving their metal elements (yet) behind, though. The reason I'm making these references is a new-born project - Old Silver Key - that consists of Neige and members of Drudkh in an attempt to cleanse themselves totally from the metal aspect of their main acts.

Tales Of Wanderings is their debut album and it moves in shoegaze/post-rock soundscapes with very few moments that unfurl a near-metal vibe. And to be more precise, I mean that some passages could have been metal, but they aren't due to the lack of a heavier distortion. It's the motif that leaves such a shy impression, nothing less, nothing more. So, the big question is: do they succeed? The disappointing answer has to go like this: they could have composed a fabulous album judging from this very specific collaboration, but to my ears it feels like it didn't take much time to finish it. What I mean is, it's neither inspired nor captivating, it feels like listening to an undeniably lighter version of Handful Of Stars with one difference, the aforementioned album compared to Tales Of Wanderings feels like a masterpiece. And it's not the (absence of) metal's fault, I couldn't care less, it just feels like they were in a hurry to release it as soon as possible without taking into consideration the consequences. From the beginning it smelled like cash anyway.

It's not that bad, without implying that it's good either. It has its moments, it couldn't be that sterile. Sometimes I even receive an Anathema vibe of the A Fine Day To Exit-A Natural Disaster era. But there are also moments I get a more alternative rock oriented feeling that makes my interest fall underneath the waves ("Star Catcher" for example). The main idea is acoustic guitars, gentle and accompanying drumming, melodic or more energetic guitar chords, some interesting bass lines, few piano and/or keyboard passages and a Neige that sounds more fragile than normal, as if he got caressed by an angel and saw the world differently. Some upbeat moments break the mellow aura but they always lead to mid-tempo passages where you'd naturally expect an outbreak of bitterness. And it just doesn't feel right at all. The good thing is it's only 37 minutes but even despite its Slayer-esque duration it sounds disturbing at times; it was supposed to be dreamy. Some highlights have to be "November Nights Insomnia", "Nineteen Winters Far Away From Home", "About Which An Old House Dreams" and sparse moments here and there.

I really think Neige should take a break for a while, it would both refill his inspirational batteries and also give a bit of space for the scene to breathe. The higher the top, the harder the fall, they say.