O'Brother

Endless Light (2016)

RENALDO69

O'Brother have always had a knack for taking post-rock/experimental to the next level. One that's still accessible and radio-friendly as the genre can offer. Endless Light continues along this route but surprisingly, it charts a more hard-rock path -- one that's more lush, full of character and filled with several quiet-to-aggressive moments that leave you gasping for air. Is it their best to date? I'll chalk that up to the likes of Disillusion and The Death of Day but this record does stretch its arms to unlock this kind of emotive drive once more.  Not quite there but a good attempt, nonetheless. 

Thundering drums snarl at you on the opener "Slow Sin"; setting the stage for what's to come. The textures and layers of melody are as haunting as O'Brother's ever been with several sections going from subdued to melodic chaos in a snap. In fact, when these segments pop up, it's highly similar to label-mates, Caspian. O'Brother, though, add their own flavour with a broody southern drawl; one that's tense and heavily cathartic. The hard-rock swing comes on "Your Move" and "Complicated End Times" to name a few with the former seeing Tanner Merrit's impressive and versatile vocals resting to set the stage for an explosive finale of guitars (a la Caspian once more). Things are very risque and non-formulaic on Endless Light and the self-titled track is another prime example of this -- which fits if you're into bands like Take One Car and Sainthood Reps. Each track is full of character and well-distinguished from the next which helps carry the record on and on. It does come off a bit dragging towards the end but all in all, O'Brother knock another out the park and into the lights. The endless ones it would seem.