In recent years, post-rock has become somewhat stale and every time I turn around, there seems to be another Mogwai or Explosions In The Sky clone popping up. In 2009, Beverly, Massachusetts post-rockers Caspian released their second full-length album Tertia, which was an album that brought a completely new feel to the genre, but just didn't receive any of the recognition that it deserved. Tertia was a groundbreaking album that should have put Caspian on the map right next to post-rock pioneers Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky, but the album didn't receive much attention, which is essentially what held the band back. All of this has changed, however, with the release of Caspian's newest effort Waking Season, which was released this past Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 through Triple Crown Records.
On previous Caspian records, the band called all of the shots when it came to recording and mixing. On Waking Season, however, the band recruited the notable and legendary Matt Bayles (Isis, Minus The Bear, Russian Circles) to mix the final product. Caspian's music has improved significantly since Tertia, but the most noticeable improvement is in the production on Waking Season. Caspian has never sounded better, clearer, or more mature since their formation in Autumn of 2003. While some of this epic sound can be praised due to Matt Bayles' skills, the majority of it comes from a band that has continued to mature throughout their nine years of existence.
Waking Season is, without a doubt, a mature and patient album. Caspian focused much of their attention on patiently crafting Waking Season. They've developed and perfected the slow-build dynamics, patiently layering the highs and lows of their instrumentation. The steady and patient builds are what make the album's crescendos hit harder than ever. This patience in song development is best displayed in 'Gone In Bloom And Bough', a ten minute track that is positive, haunting, heartfelt, subtle, consistent, and most definitely heavy. While listening to this track, I began to notice chills forming on both of my arms and thought to myself, "this is truly uplifting and heartfelt music if it is touching me so heavily...heavily enough to send chills up my arms".
The quality of instrumentation on Waking Season is outstanding and contains some of the best sounds that I have heard in years, not only in post-rock, but in all genres. Waking Season also contains many more advanced sounds and techniques than previous Caspian efforts, including drum and vocal samples, organic ambiance, acoustic arpeggios, and classical ambient piano arrangements. Tracks like 'Akiko' and 'Halls Of The Summer' contain very trance-like loops and industrial drum beats, while the second track 'Procellous' contains a live string quartet. All in all, this album is absolutely beautiful. Caspian are currently at the top of the genre and definitely pushing the boundaries of post-rock. They were not afraid to branch out from the ordinary on Waking Season, and this is one of the many reasons why it is one of the best records of 2012.
Stream Caspian's Waking Season in its entirety here:
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