Thisquietarmy – The Body And The Earth

Consouling Sounds

Thisquietarmy have been seriously prolific over the last ten years, scattering a good thirty or so albums into the musical universe across an array of different labels. However, this latest via Consouling Sounds is the first to find Eric Quach expanding TQA into a three-piece. The inclusion of Charles Bussieres and Marc-Olivier Germain allows the trademark sound to be given extra textures via trumpet, bass and drums that push into unexpected territory.

The four tracks contained herein are spread across forty minutes, which allows the pieces plenty of time to unfurl, but also gives them room to change momentum and trajectory as the mood befits. The album opener “Cometh” begins with a hum, a gradual awakening that somehow befits the beautiful but cold album art; a sweeping vista of rugged northern coastline. The gentle quiver of guitar and the muted wash of trumpet gently sketch an outline before the sturdy bass and drums crowd the tranquil scene, moving at a steady pace, constantly urging forward as a guitar drone billows in the background. This momentum can’t last and is reduced to a repetitive, grungey section that builds like waves crashing onto the stark rocks shown on the cover.

So far so good; but it is second track, “Sixth Mass” where the magic starts. The trumpet wails like a saxophone here and is about as far from jazz as it is possible to travel. There is an insistent build, with a guitar figure that echoes some of Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s more tranquil pieces. The difference here is how the trumpet changes the vibe. Where the strings of Godspeed evoke a kind of melancholy, the trumpet of Charles is less tethered, not allowing itself to be pigeonholed. It moves like tendrils in a gentle breeze as the insistent guitar figure nags subtly. Gradually, this irresistible figure is submerged by more voracious guitar. Torpid drums share the crawling sensation that comes with the best of the Earth tracks.

To be honest, I felt a little sad when that original guitar figure, which was somehow becoming more shimmering and spectral as the track progressed, suddenly dropped out. The trumpet takes this opportunity to entwine with the developing drums, the pounding rhythm adding an icy grandeur which imbues the track with a very different feel to its opening gambit. The last two minutes are tranquillity itself as everything drops away, save the trumpet which itself dissolves into the depths.

A metallic wave, jittery trumpet, distant effects, huge steady drums. On “Seismic Waves”, the drums are the anchor and each beat, each strike with a stick, is a statement that stands on its own like a signal of powerful intent. The rest of the track is structured around these totems, sitting in the shadows as the drums take centre stage. When the guitar arrives, this mood is broken with more urgency injected, the spectral shimmer of the guitar once again brought to the fore. They take a step back again on the final track, which has plenty in common with track two. The reverbed guitar is slow and sullen, the trumpet once again providing the perfect texture, deliciously sultry, its last wail in tandem with a single drumbeat evokes some lost swamp in the Everglades, untouched, torpid yet subtly alive.

Once again, you mourn the loss of that intense atmosphere when the drumbeat kicks, but the addition of layer upon layer of distorted guitar and the heavy crash of cymbal induces a dizzying sensation that overwhelms the original feel. Further layers are added, including what sounds like a melancholy synth line that sits strangely at odds with the visceral power of the rest of the track. Marc-Olivier fully lets go towards the end and the drums barrel out of control, until everything grinds to a steaming halt and we can breathe again.

The addition of extra personnel has opened up some exciting avenues for Thisquietarmy. I hope there is more to come. It may not necessarily be with this line up, but allowing other people into the creative mix has really produced great results.

-Mr Olivetti-