Falling into line behind "quiet-loud-quiet" torchbearers
Ida, the Jim Yoshii Pile-Up marks expression on the
sonic bell-curve of artistry -- I think there's a
metaphor in there, but you have to ask yourself if it
really matters. After wrapping their only previous
album in emotive ribbon, the band offers It's
Winter Here, a transcendently lush record that's as
stellar in its encapsulating progressions as it is in its
aberrant staccato ruptures.
Math-like interludes open most tracks, pressuring
as many as three guitars to create a lasting
atmosphere, while vocalist Paul Gozenbach's whispering din
of a roar asserts its presence along the
sluggish melodic crescendo. The key here is Gozenbach's mercurial
ability to drag the listener into the moment's emotional urgency in the seconds prior to
the crescendo-break -- after which, any further effusive
splendor encodes itself in the biological dichotomy of
neural shit. Overlooking a few minor slights of
conformity, the band remains in competent apprehension
concerning this 38th parallel.
While the album ostensibly peaks at its many
vocal fermatas, the over-arching emphasis on guitars
can't be ignored; exemplified throughout the album,
this instrumental concentration first surfaces on the
opening track, "Jetzt Mit Iodine", as the vocals fade
away mid-song and a broad collection of guitars are
tracked over each other in the number's slowly
developing tempo. In this sense the Pile-Up bear more resemblance
to a minimalist take on the Godspeed You
Black Emperor schtick than they resemble anything
Tsunami might have recorded. At times the melody is
consciously convoluted, juxtaposing two guitarists blessed with the
same verve for structured songcraft, creating a sometimes sonorous, sometimes
indulgent bit of technical wankery.
Those criticisms aside, the disc is a fully ship-shape
lo-fi recording (if you can call a record lo-fi when it's as precise as It's Winter Here), with a practiced approach to songwriting that retains its visceral tone
while still holding on to the listener's conscious
awareness.
