Earlier in the year, M. Pyres graced our ears with his debut Consider Me, Ghost. It hasn't even been a year yet, and he's already made a new album, with the addition of the Skygaze Family Band. It may seem a bit rushed, but at least this isn't in the same situation as Thee Oh Sees' latest LP Dog Poison, where it just seemed like they got bored and needed some more dough in their pockets.
Apart The Echo is much different than M. Pyres' previous style. It ends up being more on the atmospheric side of the fence, and the ambient interludes are extended to the 4-5 minute range, as opposed to Consider Me, Ghost's quick one-minute-drone-quickies. The sound has also changed, it obtains a more roomy and live sound than before. As far as songwriting goes, the songs don't all sound the same like before, melodies and moods change. Although, it may not be as catchy as before, the songs are still fun to listen to and you can still find yourself humming to the tunes.
I've always been a fan of both sounds; the pop songs and the ambient songs, and I'm glad that Apart The Echo has an equal amount of both styles. Listening to the album as a whole is a bit of a challenge though; you'll often get lost in the sound, questioning what's going on. Listening to the songs separately works well though when it comes to understanding the album's structure. Deciding which album is better is a difficult task, but I can say that I, once again, give M. Pyres high marks.
just so you know, "consider me, ghost" came out last year (nov 2008) making "apart the echo" almost exactly a year older.
ReplyDelete