Until the Ribbon Breaks was recommended to me by my good friend Jeremiah (of the band OceanSpeak) during a late night geek out session over various jams. Until the Ribbon Breaks has a whole bunch of stuff going on and all of it is very, very cool.
I read a concert review of their show with Run the Jewels in LA and one of the main points hit upon by the author was that although the band only has three members, it felt like there were a whole lot more than that onstage. It definitely sounds like that on the album too. How they pull off this sound live, in the age where large bands are becoming more accepted on the indie circuit (Arcade Fire, Typhoon, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, to name a few) is an awesome thing to think about.
The band’s sound is a continuation of the indietronica/R&B trend going around right now. But they take the best elements from a lot of existing bands and create a sound that’s full and all encompassing.
At one point on the album a voice asks “Hey Bobby! Why do you like Until the Ribbon Breaks?”
“Because it makes me happy.” the fella apparently named Bobby responds.
Happy is a good word to the mood of the album, although hearing “at least keep it all in perspective” in a song that immediately follows this simple description of the band is somewhat ironic. There is so much going on it is hard to keep it all in perspective.
What we do have in perspective though that this album is ready to get you dancing. All it takes is a “spark”, evidenced by the song of the same name. This song takes a few cues from Daft Punk. We also get a touch of the old time ethereal on “Persia.” The song is sensual and weird and I love it. The album also takes us to tranquil places in a “slow groove” sort of mindset, as they do well in the album closer titled the same as the band name. Dare I say the song almost feels reverent? This kind of feels sacrilegious, as I don’t know to whom the lyrics are being directed, but if we recognize the creativity as a reflection of the Divine’s imprint, this mindset works.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/8382749″/]I should also note that this band is great at composing jarring transitions that build up tension before sending us plummeting back to the meat of the song. See “Pressure” for a good example of this.
Until the Ribbon Breaks has simultaneously one of the most interesting and accessible releases of 2015 thus far. I know it is early in the year, but I predict this album is in my top ten for the entirety of the year.
0 Comments