An Index of Birds

How often has a band you liked changed for the better? Lateral, non-opinion changing changes don't count: the new Wavves stuff, for instance, is super polished and catchy as hell, but it's still fundamentally what Wavves was always trying to be, just suddenly accessible. And slow-burning changes don't count either, so A Silver Mt Zion's half-decade-plus growth from depressive chamber music to cathartic yelping Klezmer romp is out too. I think I've entirely lost sight of what I was getting at, but the basic point is the new Carta album is different and really damn good, so let's work from there.



Yeah, people have whined about the transformation from post-rock business to this new slowcore kinda sound, but ask yourself: how many more post-rock bands do we need, especially when criminally few are worth listening to? Carta, instead, have transcended with brilliant results, combining the grandiose post-rock composition with very Low-esque subdued vocals. It's fairly languid in an entirely positive way, but they've still retained their roots and the dense instrumentation swells and gives way in all the right places. It's beautiful, it's depressing, it's strangely catchy at times, and really just a fantastic record. If you're into that sort of "slowcore/shoegaze/post-rock" genre-straddling a la Low, iLiKETRAiNS (I'm still not sure if I love that band name or cringe every time I write it, but I mean, trains are neat) or Toma then give it a listen.



Carta - Building Bridges

As per usual, the fine folks at Silber are treating you well and offering the CD real cheap or a high-quality download even cheaper, so definitely check it out here. Read the other reviews, too, if for some reason you doubt me.