Do Make Say Think
Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead
[Constellation]
Rating: 7.9
I always appreciated the pedigree of Canadian music, but was never able to
convince myself that the country was truly respectable until Godspeed You Black
Emperor eradicated any thoughts of Alanis or Sloan, and slapped a hefty amount
of cred on the Yukon. Godspeed labelmates Do Make Say Think further the velvet
Canuck revolution with their own brand of maddeningly affecting slow burn
compositions, but they mine common ground to very different effect.
Do Make Say Think's extended developments of melodic themes are driven principally
by guitar, but soon explode into grand crescendos that run the gamut from free jazz
("When Day Chokes the Night") to pensive lock-grooves ("Minmin"). Their work is
definitely a certain kind of "post-rock," but thankfully, they steer clear of generic
Tortoisisms.
Two drummers duel subliminally for the rhythmic steering wheel while warm keyboards
and effects do their part in articulating the distinctive texture. However, it's
the sound of the guitar that lends this album its cohesive sound. The six strings
creep around corners with repeated melodic refrains, a rough sound played with a
delicacy that belies the stamping of the distortion pedal that will strike as
surely as the apocalypse.
Each song has its particular crest, and while Do Make Say Think follow the formula
religiously, the tension they build with each release cancels any lethargy.
Fittingly, the final track, "Goodbye Enemy Airship," erupts as if the previous
tracks were mere tremors. It's this band's "Mogwai Fear Satan," an effects-laden
cloud enveloping a determined bass pulse.
The six-strong line-up recorded this album in a barn, and a moving sense of
dramatic isolation is felt as the song-cycle of Goodbye Enemy Airship the
Landlord is Dead unfolds. It's like walking down a beaten country road
littered with inclines and declines at night and not daring to deviate from the
path or look back. Each chord is a step forward, each outburst a cathartic cry
to the domineering starry sky. Do Make Say Think have imbued their second album
with such a strong sense of purpose and an indefatigable belief in their
characteristic sound that comparisons become largely irrelevant. That they
succeed so well on their own terms without weighing their music down with
tired post-rock clichés makes their work that much more compelling.
-S. Murray