"Another Way Of Being There"
(Casino Gravity)
six / ten
|
|
HALFSET "Another Way Of Being There" (Casino Gravity) six / ten |
Everyone gets old at some stage. It's inevitable. And when you get old, you try and play it off as maturity. I should know - I'm mature. So, this is Dublin-based Halfset's mature sounding second album, where the band have ditched their electronic/improvised leanings in favour of a safer, more structured sound.
Where the band once walked a similar path to the lush electronic soundscapes of Jimmy Behan, the new direction the four-piece have choosen to explore seems closer to the post-rock sounds of Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky Ð with less guitars, obviously. However, the safe factor isn't necessarily a good thing, and despite the excellent arrangements and production, the album sadly lacks enough grit and distinction to push it in any new real direction.
While the album is teeming in beautiful harp and string orchestration, the layered guitars seem to follow the same riff from song to song - making it difficult to extract any stand-out tracks on the album. It's not that the album is bad, it's just that it seems to chug along in the same direction for an hour, rarely swerving left or right to present you with a different perspective.
Now, that said, the music does become a good deal more interactive when it's experienced as part of the accompanying DVD. While the 10 visual pieces rely a tad too much on scenic imagery of nature (surely everyone knows trees are lovely?), the stand-out videos produced by Kate McKeon and Donal Scannell do convey an alternative layer of depth when consumed along with the gentle sonic ambiance. I'll probably love this album more when I'm thirty.
Johnny Doobs
www.myspace.com/halfset
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................