Archive - Restriction (2015)

×

Archive - Restriction (2015)

Close

A lot of music is based on ebb and flow., the building of tension and the release, the anticipation and the payoff. Electronic music is a great example of this. A song will build and build to the point where you think it can't possible contain itself anymore and then comes the drop. Archive is one of the only bands that I know of that uses this feeling of tension and release across an entire album rather than just withing a single song.

This band, more than any other I have come across (and I listen to A LOT of music) requires that you think of their albums as a "whole piece" to be listened to in one sitting or at the very least, in large chunks. Restriction falls right into this line of thinking. The first three songs are intense. Then the album slows down and you get to catch your breath with a few slower, more intimate songs. Track 7 (Ride in Squares) is the first in another three song "chunk" of intense music that is my favorite section of the album. Then final three songs do a great job building to a satisfying climax that leaves you with a sense of finality. Archive have a way of crafting songs that makes it hard for you to stop listening. Each song has it's own unique identity, but they flow so well together they create one unified "whole." Much like the separate movements of a classical piece.

The other thing that Archive does so well is use dynamics as an actual composition tool. Their music is mixed in such a way that you feel the need to turn it up just so that you can hear every tiny detail. Then the song will gradually grow over time to the point that you realize you are actually listening louder than you should be and intended to in the first place! All this is done intentionally so that the loud parts actually FEEL overwhelming and the more subdued parts feel intimate. I cannot state how rare this quality is in music nowadays.

This album is a great spiritual successor to With Us Until You're Dead and Controlling Crowds. Female vocals are more present than on any of their previous work and are performed for the most part by the wonderful Holly Martin (who you might recognize from their incredible song Hatchet). The male vocals are split between several of the members as on previous albums. I would also say that the drum programming and playing on this album is phenomenal and definitely back up to the standards set by Controlling Crowds 1-3.

It also bears mentioning that Restriction is a full album that falls right in line with their previous albums with he exception of Axiom which was released last year. That album is much more subdued and is really more like a soundtrack to the movie they created to go along with it. So if you didn't care for Axiom, Restriction is what you were looking for.

If this is your first Archive album just approach it with an open mind and preferably a quite place with which to listen in. I highly recommend Controlling Crowds Vol 1-3 if you enjoy this album, but really, you can't go wrong with any of their last 7 albums!

By Patrick Musilek, amazon

×

Archive - Restriction (2015)

Close

×

Archive - Restriction (2015)

Close