Thisquietarmy Unconquered

Title: Thisquietarmy - Unconquered
Label: Foreshadow
Cataloge No: FSHCD007
Type: Album
Reviewer: Rich
Date: 17, May, 2008

I went for a walk a little earlier on and in some ways the only thing I could think about was this album being the perfect soundtrack for aimlessly walking about on your own. Not really thinking of anything, just.... being. Maybe that isn't really the best way to describe this stunning debut album, but maybe you know what I mean. Unconquered lives and breaths wonderfully like the countryside around here, not harming anyone, yet making the biggest impact it can and looming over everything stunningly, yet with a certain grace that I don't quite think anything else could have.

Ah, whatever bollocks that was maybe you know where I am coming from. Put quite simply, Unconquered is brilliant. Immobilization starts the album off with a taste of things to come. Washes of guitar sawing and awkward quiet glitches grace this (Aidan Baker featured) piece until silence descends and a wonderful slow introduction to the album broods. Sounds slowly build and decrease with ease and at times it is hard to believe that a guitar is the main sound source. Then after a slight uneasy silence Battlfield Arkestrah eases in. This is the nine minute 'epic' that in many ways defines the album perfectly. Its hauntingly mournful guitar line sums up the album, this is certainly not Aidan Baker. Thisquietarmy is it's own entity, And with the first drum machine beat you realise that in some ways the simplicity and at the same time intense density does indeed help stand out from the crowd. Loops are abundant here, and over the whole album they are used brilliantly in making a huge sound from just one person with a guitar. Things go into overdrive and everything becomes awash with reverb and distortion, It's wonderful and stunningly done indeed.

Things kick in slightly unexpectedly with the simple beat of Warchitects and the album takes on a more straightforward and shoegaze them. Yeah, you can nod your head to this and it could well be a Battlfield Arkestrah part 2 with its running into space blindly psychedelic feel.

Things start to slow down with The Sun Destroyers and Death Of A Sailor, drone and ambiance play a big part here but without at any times becoming 'ambient music' to play quietly. You really need to hear this on headphones or at obscene volumes. Either way this is not something to ignore or put on in the background, each track has so many minute details buried deep a lot could be easily missed. This introduction of vocals on The Great Escapist adds a whole new dimension to the project. Meryem Yildiz's haunting voice is not so much about the lyrics or the actually sound, but the level of humanity that it brings is beautiful and not something often heard in similar out-rock releases.

Mercinary Flags marks the comedown, with its quiet yet awkward electronic pounding rhythm pushing the track forwards this is certainly a stand out. The treated reverby guitar work is stunning and the slow additions of more and more loops to the structure is brilliantly executed and powerfully mournful to say the least. Finally Empire brings back the drums and shoegaze soundscapes. Things are still in comedown mode, but the gorgeous drone underlying the track finishes the album perfectly, right to the final breakdown.

Okay so the drum machines could be more intricate and some bits do seem to drag on, but I have to say that this album is hugely impressive, a lot of thought has obviously gone into the overall feel and sound of the album, a lot of genres are covered but not once does it get too sickly or confusing. Maybe a few pieces feel a bit unoriginal and at certainly this is not an album that can be listened to all the time. But that is the beauty here, there is a lot of skill and talent shown, a second album could well be jaw dropping. This is a great piece of work that deals out a lot more than ever expected. But this quiet review probably didn't do justice to the album, in fact I know it hasn't, so head on over to the Foreshadow website here where they have two tracks to download for free (hoorah!), one of which is a web exclusive...

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