Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

SATURN - A Long Discussion

2/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
SATURN

A Long Discussion
self-released; 2014

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
Brothers Brett and Brady Fieldcamp and Jesse York formed SATURN in 2003. Three years later they would release their debut album entitled In Sorrow You’ll Find Hope, which earned them a loyal fan base. They wouldn’t come out with their sophomore release entitled A Long Discussion for another twelve years. The album contains thirteen songs and is quite scattered when it comes to style and theme. I thought some of it worked very well and some of it fell a bit short. That being said I would say the majority falls into the former. The band flirts with post-rock, pop, ambient and a couple of places in between.

The album kicks off “Asleep Inside the Sound,” which starts off with a lone piano and vocals. I loved the piano sound, which reminded me of Silver Mt. Zion. The song is extremely melancholy and is basically on the verge of despair. You can surely understand my surprise when I heard the second track “The Crows,” which was upbeat and lively.

“The Crows” is a great song and can easily make a case for being the standout track on the album. The instrumentation is a rich tonal palette with a piano taking the lead but the vocal melody is what makes this song special. It’s instantly catchy and I felt the delivery was especially effective here. Guitars start to become more prevalent on “All the Clouds in the Sky,” which tumbles along with a kinetic energy that gets powered by a steady percussion and very welcome trumpet.

I have ambivalent feelings about a couple of the songs. One that comes to mind was “Absolute,” which is seven- plus-minutes that doesn’t go anywhere. It’s atmospheric and beautiful in a melancholy kind of a way but I think it could have been wrapped up in four minutes since the energy doesn’t change. The next track “Canada” is longer but doesn’t feel like it since it contains peaks and valleys. This is a bit post-rock mixed in with elements of jazz and metal. I have to say it felt worlds away from some of the other material.

As the album progresses there were more twists and turns that had me scratching my head. “Holy Hands” is an acoustic based folk song while “Ghosts II” is grandiose style post-rock. They close with an extremely sparse and dismal song called “asleep”.

The biggest issue with A Long Discussion is the flow. A majority of those the songs work on their own but when listened to in sequential order it feels like a compilation CD rather than an album that has recurring themes (something that can happen when taking twelve years to make an album). I’m not sure the band realizes that they have a gift for writing a great indie pop song as the displayed on “The Crows.”

I was hoping that the band would explore that territory more. Overall, this is a solid yet disjointed album that contains a number of songs that are clear highlights. 
Become A Fan

official website
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band

© Divide and Conquer 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact