I’ll admit it, I didn’t really like ¡Forward, Russia!’s new album, Life Processes on first listen. I thought it might drift too closely into Screamo/Emo territory, and let me tell you - I don’t like Screamo (two of the band members are credited with ’shouts’ instead of ‘vocals’). The very mention of The Blood Brothers usually makes my eardrums spontaneously burst - frequent Blood Bros collaborator Matt Bayles produced the record - and there are just very few instances in which I find shrieking your lyrics to be a particularly enjoyable practice. Call me close-minded.
However, I decided to give the album a fair chance. Yes, there are the ocassional outbursts, but I’ve been listening to it all the way through the passed few days, and my perspective has definitely changed. There’s more here than (initially) meets the eye. We’ve got a bit of Bloc Party-ish introspective dance-rock (’We Are Grey Matter’), Godspeed You! Black Emperor-ness (’Some Buildings’), then there’s the this-sure-doesn’t-sound-like-Forward-Russia, ‘Spanish Triangles’ - a gorgeous, 9-minute, emotionally epic track that sounds unlike anything the band have ever done.
Those that loved the band’s first album - Give Me A Wall - might find record #2 a little difficult to digest. It’s certainly different, and not only because its tracks have actual names instead of numbers. I think there’s a greater depth here, and at the very least an attempt to stretch beyond what’s expected.
Life Processes became available here in the states as of last Tuesday (the 22nd) on Mute. You can pick the record up in physical or digital format on Amazon
MP3: Forward Russia - Spring Is A Condition
- Sean
