Our Brother The Native - Make Amends For We Are Merely Vessels (Fat Cat)
3/5
By: Charlie Potter
Don't be fooled by the cute titles, this is pretty serious stuff. Never in my life have I heard an album with less of a sense of humour, which makes it quite an intense affair. I usually am no sort to shy away from intensity, but most intense albums usually have some sort of satisfaction that operates on a very base level. This however seems to be three people making music because they think there is so much terrible injustice in the world that they need to shout about it.
The sad thing is that they are probably right, and it almost definitely makes a good argument for less people wimping out, and more people coming to terms with the bigger picture. Of course no one would want this all the time, but I have an admiration for this band going all out, no holds barred, intense build ups with distanced shouting... or rather screaming.
Part of me feels that at 1hr and 18 minutes, perhaps this band should be a little less demanding. Yet another part of me thinks that a band as uncompromising as this probably aren't that worried about what I think. But then again, the fact remains if this had been made a little shorter it would probably reach a lot more people. It's quite a tough conundrum, because for me it means there is just no way that I will be able to give such a meaty album a fair review, there is just no way I have time to get as intimately involved in this music to let it operate on the level it probably operates on best.
It is quite impressive what a vastness the band create, with only three members they seem to be able to create a sound similar to Godspeed You Black Emperor!, and in a similar way to Godspeed they seem to manage to create that kind of intensely emotional and powerful yet peaceful sound almost like a soundtrack to a very heavy film in which you are situated firmly inside one characters head, but of course on this album there are no characters, only intensely emotional music. The sound tends to slowly rise in and out of glowing dirgey noise into huge reverb aided intense melodies. There is never a sudden jolt of sound on this album, so much so that there is a real skill to how slowly the band raise powerful melodies out of the almost soporific noise.
This is a strange album in that on first listen it sounds like relatively formulaic post rock, and then you think 'no', because there is this sort of terrifying intensity, but then you realise that despite that intensity that makes it feel quite different, it still is quite formulaic. In conclusion I would say that there is a remarkable amount of skill involved in making this album but not so much the structuring of the song or even really the melodies, although both things are very important to the album. But really the skill here is a sort of sensitivity or responsiveness of expression.
I can really see this as being incredibly therapeutic for fans, but some how this stops short of that for me either because I am not patient enough, or more likely perhaps I am just not as angry at the world. Not any more. In that sense, this band almost remind me of Neurosis furiously wrenching their hearts out and shouting at the world, particularly on 'Through Silver in Blood'.
I have an immense amount of respect for Our Brother The Native, but ultimately I find this album a little tiring and not diverse enough, perhaps the next time I go through an awful traumatic experience this album will help me pick up the pieces, and I'm sure when that happens I will regret not giving it a 5, but here goes...
Artists in this article: Our Brother The Native
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