REVIEW: Pale Saints, Slow Buildings (Warner / 4AD)
- Tim Mohr
Slow Buildings marks something of a new era for the Pale Saints, as guitarist Meriel Barham has assumed exclusive duties as lead vocalist. Her voice, then, is of some importance in trying to describe the record.
The opening track is instrumental, brooding and building with a trumpet laced into the guitar sounds. Barham emerges clearly on the second title, "Angel (will you be my)." This is not the ethereal ghost-whisper of Cranes or Lush, whose music might otherwise come to mind. Barham's voice is earthier, somewhat deeper and richer than the post-Sundays norm. The music and voice combined suggest the Heart Throbs' (One Little Indian) last two records.
Admirably, the songs vary widely in atmosphere and structure. A few concise pop songs are balanced with longer, gloomier pieces like the ten- minute "Henry." Leaning toward the gothic side of the 4AD catalogue on these longer compositions, Pale Saints stay at a dirge-like pace while reaching dynamic extremes where feedback, keyboards, and monster riffs are offset by sparse, quiet sections.
The guitars make Slow Buildings a very engaging album. Tones and textures cover a range of styles, often reminiscent of disparate 4AD bands: the blissed-out, clean sounds of Spirea-X, winding Ultra Vivid Scene leads, the incessant drive of the Breeders. The greatest strength of Slow Buildings is that it remains coherent while evoking comparisons to any number of good - and starkly dissimilar - bands. It is stylistically adventurous yet retains a cohesive feel and a consistency of quality.
