A note before I start: I have decided to eschew the song by song review format of my blog posts in favor of a more cumulative, more traditional review format. Why? Cuz, quite frankly, I've increasingly noticed that my song by song posts are... shall we say... frickin long. So, that's that with that! Other than that, the blog will run pretty much the same! Onward!
Anyone heard of a band called Explosions in the Sky? Anyone who has heard of Explosions in the Sky want to hear about a band that basically takes that sound and increases the explosiveness by five? Then, dear people, For a Minor Reflection is the band for you. I went through an Icelandic phases a few months back; I downloaded this album and another instrumental album by Ólafur Arnalds (which I will probably review a little bit later). These guys can just flat out rock. Ironically, the album artwork is simple but epic in a way. That's this album in a nutshell. Here we go! (Just fyi, some of the song names have symbols I can't find on my computer, so I didn't type those symbols; I hope you forgive me.)
This album is best taken and listened to as a whole, because most of the songs bleed together to make one hourlong piece of musical goodness. With guitars, bass, and drums, the people of For a Minor Reflection create long songs that almost tell stories in their own right. To me, this album sounds a bit like a journey. It starts off slow and thoughtful, almost as though you are waking up on the morning of the day you are to start something big: a project, a journey, an epic quest to find a magical piece of cheese, you name it.
Each song builds slowly, starting with a simple drum rhythm or guitar riff. As time goes on, other melodic elements come into play, and instrumentation increases. Eventually, the music builds to earth shattering proportions. The music on this album is simply explosive. It could be the soundtrack to someone's life. It has ups and downs; it can be sad, happy, urgent, and triumphant within a mere five minutes (qualities that life shares, I've noticed).
These builds can happen numerous times over the course of one song; just when you think these guys are getting ready to tone it down and end the song, they hit you with one, final, amazing melody change that throws you for a loop and leaves you wanting even more.
Seeing as there are no lyrics on this album, there really isn't much of a message to interpret from song to song, no overt theme that is obvious to the listener. But, as I said, this music reminds me of a journey (could this be because I rewatched The Lord of the Rings this week?.... Maybe). But still, that makes the music no less outstanding.
Explosions in the Sky is another band in the same vein as For a Minor Reflection, and they are much better known. However, if I had to pick a favorite between the two, it would be For a Minor Reflection simply because of the raw emotion in their music. It's rougher than the music of EITS, but its lows are lower and its highs are higher. Simply put, I think it's more powerful.
If you're looking for an album to melt away in, this is perfect. You don't have to pay attention to any lyrics; you just have to let go and float away into a musical landscape that these people from Iceland have created so well. I look forward to their next album.
Here's a link to their Myspace!
http://www.myspace.com/foraminorreflection
Until next time, enjoy all the great music out there, try some Icelandic music; it never fails to disappoint, in my experience.
Finally, and most importantly, happy holidays and happy new year!
P.S. For those of you who have read this far, I'm going to be starting a new post series which will talk about my top 3 favorite albums released each month. So, check back in frequently for more album reviews and month recaps!
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