Album: Maybeshewill – Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony

ALBUM REVIEW: Maybeshewill – Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony
Words: Gareth O’Malley

Post-rock is undergoing quite a resurgence this year. Codes In The Clouds’ debut album, ‘Paper Canyon’; Mono’s exceptional fifth release, ‘Hymn To The Immortal Wind’; and Tortoise’s impressive new record, ‘Beacons of Ancestorship’ are among 2009’s post-rock highlights. The newest addition to this ever-growing pile comes courtesy of Leicester four-piece Maybeshewill. Preferring to do most of the work themselves (they have stated in many interviews that they are concerned with the state of the mainstream music industry), they have recorded their music at no cost, as imperceptible as that might seem. And what good music it is.

‘Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony’, the band’s second record, lets us know right from the off that there are four exceptionally talented musicians at work. ‘You Can’t Shake Hands With A Clenched Fist’ showcases the band’s heavier side, with blistering riffs aplenty. There’s some time-signature trickery in there too. A definite mini-epic, the song runs to under three minutes, and is quite an impressive beginning. It is far from the high point of the record, however.

‘Co-Conspirators’ comes roaring straight out of the speakers. It thunders along until around a minute-and-a-half in, when piano enters and the song settles down to offer the first real respite in this opening five minutes. Samples are quite a prominent feature on this album, and are used quite effectively. After that relatively laid-back section comes another meter change, and the song draws to a close in stunning fashion.

The standout track on the album, however, is the fourth track, Accept And Embrace. Far and away my song of the year so far, it is much more a piano-based track than the songs that have preceded it. The melodies that feature as it unfolds over six-and-a-half minutes are some of the best that I’ve heard in a while. As guitars, drums, and keyboard come in, and the song gathers pace, you sense that this all has to come to a head somehow. It does – not with your typical post-rock explosion, however. A reprise of the piano part at the beginning of the track builds to a wall of noise. Then, the song fades out unexpectedly, leaving the listener breathless.

‘Our History Will Be What We Make Of It’ features sparse instrumentation. On this occasion, focus is shifted to another sample. It would be quite a forgettable three minutes if it wasn’t so important in the context of the album.

The album’s title track wraps things up in style. A truly devastating listen, it features another sample, this time a scatching attack on the youth of today. “We are young, confident, affluent, and with no memory of tougher times. We have grown up in an era of never-ending financial growth and expected things to stay that way…” By no means an easy listen, it is a fitting finale to an album that is a real roller-coaster ride. Soaring highs (climax of ‘Accept And Embrace’, penultimate track ‘Last Time This Year’) and crushing lows (title track, ‘Our History…’) sit perfectly alongside each other. ‘Sing the Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony’ is an amazingly cohesive album. I didn’t think that Maybeshewill would be able to top their stellar debut, last year’s ‘Not For Want Of Trying’. They have. Onwards and upwards, then, and long may it continue.