Dolorous Canter

For What You Thought Was Once Dead (2005)

Jordan Rogowski

Well, that came out of nowhere.

Chicago's own Dolorous Canter have dropped an extremely impressive EP on the world by way of For What You Thought Was Once Dead. Seemingly drawing from equal parts Funeral Diner and Yaphet Kotto, the band's EP unleashes close to half an hour's worth of cathartic screamed vocals and intense, intricate rhythms. Fusing terrific, discordant instrumentation with extremely intense vocals and lyrics to match, the band immediately establishes themselves in a positive light.

"To East Ontario" is a short but intense blast of power and conviction. The band has an extremely raw yet polished sound to them. That's not to say the music is overproduced, which couldn't be further from the truth, only that the raw, bare sound perfectly suits the vocals and instrumentation, and just sounds like an absolutely complete package. All four members of the band heavily contribute, doing vocals as well as playing their own respective instruments. Canter make solid use of the loud/soft dynamic, offering long instrumental passages that build and build until finally unloading in a spastic burst of screaming fury. "Unusable Signal" is the perfect example for this, as there's more than a couple transition phases between the different tempos, and it's all extremely fluid. The relentless pounding, starts and stops of the guitar and drums towards the end lead brilliantly into a whirlwind of quick and dissonant guitar work.

Still, Dolorous Canter have a much more subtle side, begging to be released.

And on the eleven-minute "From Tokyo to Stockholm," a much more reserved band is seen. The rhythms and instrumentation are still tight as ever, but the vocals are in part sung in this song, which is ultimately my biggest gripe with the album. I appreciate their willingness to change things up, but to be frank, the singing is pretty poor. Luckily for them, it accounts for only a few of the song's eleven minutes, the rest being taken up by a solid variation of guitar tones and harmonies.

This EP really presents a lot to like from the Chicago four-piece. They have an extremely solid grasp on every aspect that makes this kind of music enjoyable. It's urgent, intense, raw and visceral, and every possible element was dealt with in a precise manner, so that there's no lack of flow, no loose ends, nothing unnecessary. Fans of either of the bands that I originally cited as influences here will do well to track down a copy of this; you will not be disappointed.