The textures of ambient post-metal are like critical endorphin administrations for an extreme metal critic like myself. After the daily rampage of death and black metal–if I'm still in the metal mood–I turn to the lighter genres to cleanse myself of the grime. Then, the cycle repeats. Today, already, I've written two reviews, so to calm down, I turned to Million Moons, an instrumental post-metal/post-rock four-piece from London with a knack for ambience. I constantly rely on post-genres to lift my mood as much as they may crush it, but by looking at the title, You Be Good, I Love You, I'm positive positivity will reign supreme.
The blissful walls of distortion appear. They encroach upon you, advancing every second, progressing in volume, and replacing any emotion you previously felt with an overwhelming sense of being. The guitars layer each other, overlapping, not clashing. Once you feel like it's too much, it ceases–a drum pattering begins. Arranged and played in a complex manner, it starts, and while it plays out, the instruments join back in like a rejuvenation of sound. The crushing walls that once confined you now release you into the stratosphere; your mood undergoes a picardy third, leaving off on the happiest note possible. What an album, right? No, that was "Titan of the Deep," the first song. Million Moons goes on to do this again and again. And again.
The best advice pre-listen for You Be Good, I Love You is to just let it envelop you. Across a sturdy fifty-six minutes, Million Moons toys with your spirit, experimenting with what state they should keep it in. They, thankfully, can't choose, and instead opt for a tour of your emotions, all the while with zero lyricism. They'll push you to subconsciously calculate the oddly-timed bass in songs like "Thundering Footsteps," yet any progressive tinge won't be distracting. The ambience, propagated by a twinkly piano and powerful drums, is always there to cushion your fall from any bout of gritty, guitar-led distortion. You're not alone when you're with a Million Moons. A thousand thousand moons!
Yes, the album takes a while. The songs reach upwards of eight-and-a-half-minutes, but that's merely post-metal. The big question is: if every song results in a cathartic release, is the idea of such release watered down? Do they all have the same effect? Short answer, not really. Of course, no other track will hit as hard as the opener, but most pieces introduce something–whether that be a groove or a new instrument like the strings and saxophone in "Memories of a Past Life–that gives the piece something intriguing. It's impossible (strange comparison incoming) to build up and release repetitively. Just see deathcore and the genre's constant breakdowns: the first one hits hard, the second not so much, the third now annoying. Million Moons had no struggle elevating and demoting the feels across eight distinct songs.
You Be Good, I Love You is nothing short of an AOTY contender. It's delicate. A piece of melancholic excellence. It may be formulaic, but if the formula's good, there's nothing to fret.