They Say We're Sinking

Echoes of The Great War EP

Written by: DR on 25/07/2011 16:57:25

Similar to a lot of post-rock, "Echoes of The Great War" follows a theme throughout its run-time in the hopes of re-creating or capturing the atmosphere and feelings of a story being told. And, similar to a lot of post-rock, it attempts to do so without vocals, and therefore lyrics.

Not only have They Say We're Sinking successfully achieved this concept, but they've managed to whilst at the same time creating a damn good four-song slice of post-rock that errs slightly towards the more metallic characteristics yet still maintains whispers of the more picture-esque side of the genre. It's loosely based on (from what I can make out) a soldier's experiences in the first world war, and adeptly recreates the bleakness, despair and hopelessness, with each song being a (presumably) Hebrew abjad: "Beth", "Kaph", "Gimel" and "Teth" (thanks Wikipedia).

It may not be ground-breakingly original, but that's forgiveable because, surprisingly, this EP is They Say We're Sinking's very first release. As typical with bands so early in their career, echoes of their influences are obvious, such as This Will Destroy You and If These Trees Could Talk, but you'll struggle to pinpoint a band with the exact same sound. Moreover, this is executed with an absurd confidence and talent for a band in the beginning of their career, and avoids the usual pitfalls of awkwardness and inconsistency.

"Beth (Declarer)" wastes no time with overly-complicated or time-consuming build-ups, flying right out of the block with ringing guitars juxtaposed with a post-metal backbone. A song of clear intent is rarely heard by a band so young, as is the confidence with which "Gimel (The Wandering)" creates feelings of hope through cinematic soundscapes after immediately following a screaming ending to a song as torturous, almost painful, as "Kaph (Invocation)". The jewel here is closer "Teth (The Keeper)", rounding off the EP with pulsating drums that gather momentum like a firing machine gun, after a build & release structure that leads to a devastating crescendo that belies their tender years.

"Echoes of The Great War" is hopefully the beginning of a promising post-rock career, because with it They Say We're Sinking have proved they can stand toe-to-toe with the genre's elite in terms of the execution of an idea, a concept, and in terms of creating outright powerful and captivating songs. Plus, it's up for name-your-price download, so can you really afford to miss out on what could be the start of something special? Guys, now go and prove you can do it in a full-length format!

8

Download: Beth (Declarer), Teth (The Keeper)
For The Fans of: If These Trees Could Talk, Red Sparowes, Gifts From Enola, This Will Destroy You's self-titled album
Listen: Bandcamp (name your price)

Release Date 28.06.2011
Self-Released


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