Albums To Check Out: Post Rock Edition

Album: How Lonely Sits The City
Artist: The Ascent Of Everest

The Ascent of Everest are a very interesting band. Its very atmospheric in comparison to other post rock bands. The album How Lonely Sits the City, interests me, because it tells the story of... well a city. We hear it's discovery, its growth, its downfall, and the horror of what lies beyond it.
The album is mostly instrumental. It has some "voices" but I wouldn't really say it has singing.
You have to approach this album in the same way you approach a classical symphony.

The Album starts off with Alas! Alas! The Breath of Life. It has, rather air-ish instrumentals that slowly build up. I've always assumed it was the discovery and building of the city. 6:30 into the song, it picks up, giving it a more lively feeling. It soars higher and higher until about 8:00 when it hits the finale. It then calms down, bringing us to a more aisian feeling. What before was the rush of buisness, becomes the weekend. The afternoon lounding in the sunset on a friday night. A sitting back and watching the city that has been built. It ends preparing us for the second track.

As the City Burned, We Trembled For We Saw the Makings of Its Undoings in Our Own Hearts. (Yes, that is the name of the second song) Starting off with a cello, it quickly becomes desperate. The city sure as hell is burning, but in more than one way. This song is desperation, desolation, destruction. After a while, it calms down. The wealth of the city has gone, and the people live in poverty. Then, a snare picks in, starting a march of sorts. Eventually it picks up in a wide range of distortion, and guitar delay. It leaves with a single guitar wailing out, crying like a rusty machine. When the original flaming rhythm comes back. The cello returns, the original destruction of the city as well.

Molotov starts out with a piano. Nothing is left to burn in the city. High hats become shopping carts in dark alleys. Vocals come in, bit its hopefull.

Then the album gets really interesting. A Threnody (For the Victims of November Second) starts off slow, and atmospheric. Deep in the backgrounda voice comes up, giving a sort of political speech. It talks about the president not understand.. it keeps repeating the line "This city is a shining city on a hill" and it demands answers. Why? Why are the steel workers out of work, when we subsidize foreign steel? The speech ends. A chant starts up. The voices of children. Cheers fly up from a crowd. A music box begins hammering out a song. It all reads of an uprising.

Not for honor.
Not for country.
Not for profit.
But for love.

Finally the last song on the album: If I Could Move Mountains (I) Majesty And Awe (II) Collapse Into Understanding (III) Gathered Hearts Rise And Sing At The First Breath of Dawn
is a roaring symphonic work. It seems as though the city is gone, off to find greener grounds.
The nature returns. The poverty is over. It ends with soaring violins, and the sound of children playing in suburbia. It fades out into nothing.