The world needs more bright-eyed post-rock filled with strings, especially in these, our dark times of isolation. Luckily, gazelle(s) are here to fill the quota. Their upcoming release, True Meridian, which drops on June 19th, is chock full with the kind of Americana-infused, nostalgia dripping, nature worshipping post-rock which we’ve grown to love over the past few years of its ascendency. This mood is evoked not only by the beautiful string sections on the album, although they certainly don’t hurt, but also by their interplay with the rest of the (excellent) instrumentation on it. Today, we’re proud to premiere what is undoubtedly my favorite track from the release, “Death Hilarious”. Head on down below for your first taste!
The track starts off with rolling drums, quickly escorted by a forlorn guitar line and some touches on the synths which instantly set the expansive and fantastical mood of the track. As the track progresses, the main line of the track takes hold, accentuated by the dirtier guitars to great effect. The track then spends its first half teetering between these two modes, the slightly heavier main guitar track and the dreamy segments. These are further backed by heart-stoppingly gorgeous bass tones and string parts which, together, create a sort of chiaroscuro for the track to paint on. All of this culminates in a catharsis filled crescendo at the center of the track, with the strings finally letting loose in the middle of the storm and ejecting all the pent up energies into our ears.
But here’s the thing: that’s just the center of the track. After the crescendo, instead of a ponderous, silent outro, we’re faced with a slowdown as gazelle(s) sink into doom metal territory; the chords elongate and the strings now paint a mournful, morose, and almost dirge-like picture. Things have transformed, the track now showing us that the contradiction contained in its name is also displayed in the track itself, as the hopeful message of its opening half gets sublimated and inverted by its ending.
There are plenty of these unexpected touches on True Meridian and they make the album stand way out from the crowd. It’s an incredible post-rock album in and of itself but it’s also something more, touching on darker and more abrasive sides of its subject-matter. As we said, it drops on June 19th and you can pre-order it right here.