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Metavari create a sound that cannot avoid being labelled as post-rock given that it’s instrumental music employing the sparing use of guitars and slowly building themes. The major difference here is that they avoid the quiet/ loud/ quiet trick completely, only very occasionally hinting that something cataclysmic might be waiting at the next turn without ever revealing it’s awful truth, with ‘Calm Waves Over Oceana’ providing one of the few occasions when a thematic climax is reached. It’s no surprise to learn that they’ve scored soundtracks for films and commercials and to this end ‘Be One Of Us’ serves as an impressive portfolio.
Opening with ‘Of Lungs and Shadows’, a track that evokes a dewy-eyed sunrise over a big city, muffled vocal excerpts overlying the merest suggestion of a gentle Mike Postian melody, the album progresses in similar vein, devoid of the usual emotional peaks and troughs associated with the standard post-rock template; like the soundtrack to an early morning cross-town taxi ride in which the most traumatic event involves the driver calmly pointing out that his tyres might be slightly under-inflated. It’s upbeat without ever really threatening a mood swing and with music this passive it’s difficult to avoid damning with faint praise, especially given that the combination of twinkling guitars, tinkling electric pianos and gently shuffling beats demands to be described as ‘pleasant’. It’s fairer to say that this music is comforting; not an engaging listen as a whole album but nice to have playing in the background while you’re doing the ironing or concocting a formula for world peace.
RICHARD STOKOE
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