ALBUM REVIEW: /// Light – Civil Service
The debut album from Manchester-based quartet CIVIL SERVICE, /// Light is a multi-faceted exploration of its namesake and a celebration of post-rock’s thriving UK scene. Building on their 2022 EP Life /// Death and tours with BLACKSHAPE and A-TOTA-SO, the band have enlisted a range of collaborators to assemble a set of songs that hit all of the best characteristics of the genre: widescreen soundscapes, intertwining guitar lines, huge crescendos, and (of course) expansive songs and song titles.
The album begins with a voiceover from Caroline Cawley of DYSTOPIAN FUTURE MOVIES, framing the sound the band have crafted – “piercing, blinding, encompassing, light”, made manifest through thick layers of fuzz and reverb that permeate every track. The narration is reprised throughout the album, an effective echo of the themes explored. The band are comfortable luxuriating on a single musical idea, letting it play out with increasing intensity, patiently layering new ideas or dynamics. Opener She Would Never Retreat; Their Negativity Just Made Her Stronger is a classic example. A groovy drum beat underpins and drives the repeating piano/guitar motif as distortion and cymbal crashes build over the first five minutes. A transition of the palate to electronics and a drum machine serves as a reminder to breathe, and again at the 10-minute mark with a piano line as prelude to a full rock-out outro.
/// Light is produced by 65DAYSOFSTATIC producer Dave Sanderson, who brings a few tricks out of the post-rock toolbox to distil a broad palette of guitars, synths and samples into an enveloping sound. The lead guitars are siren-like, all heavy sustain and out-of-focus distortion, the sonic equivalent of a lens flare. That thematic thread of light takes on a broad spectrum of meanings, including radio frequencies and signals, showcased on Their Lines Of Communication, Severed. The track starts with a harmonically simple progression before a cascade of overlapping radio messages dominates the attention, leaving the listener adrift amidst a sea of unfocused broadcasts. Later, there is a call-and-response thread between the lead guitar and piano octaves, forcing its way through the wall of counting voices in different languages as they slowly align. It’s a clever and compelling moment. The song concludes with a massive octave riff on the guitar amid dramatic pauses on the drums – a definite flair for the dramatic on show.
Elsewhere, there is some fun sonic experimentation. Now Their Backs Are Bent In Postures Of Apology alternates between bouncing snare hits and a dramatic half-time feel throughout its nine-minute runtime. The voiceover returns part-way to outline a picture of isolation and failed contact; the remainder of the song rotates through various synth lead sounds, each straining as a different attempt at connection. The band continue varying the feel of the song, forever searching for the right frequency to tune into. It evokes an almost sci-fi atmosphere – like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind if it were set to barnstorming instrumental guitar rock.
The album concludes with a two-part suite of songs. She Felt The Yawning Skyline: Intangible foregrounds a meandering bass line, playing more with those electronic drum machines and a plethora of kick drum sounds and dissonant piano chords. However, it feels more like an appetiser for the main feature. She Felt The Yawning Skyline: Meaningless is a high point, featuring the most memorable melody of the album. The drums and bass stay locked in a compelling minor key groove as guitars chime through weaving patterns. A proper anticipatory build gives way to cavernous toms and a fist-in-the-air choir of contemporaries DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS, L.O.E., NEW GHOST and DUTCH ELM, before hitting its full cathartic climax.
/// Light is unafraid to give you multiple threads to focus on, with repeat listens revealing more layers buried within the maximalist distortion. The musical ideas are straightforward – rarely featuring anything technically or harmonically clever, the focus instead on texture, sound, narrative. It can be a little one-note, but it’s a good note. Whilst there are some significant dynamics – the crashing power chords 11 minutes into the opening track are a proper headbanging moment – this is best savoured in a darkened room with your eyes closed, allowed to fully absorb you in its vast stretches of exploration and illumination.
Rating: 7/10
/// Light is set for release on October 4th via Ripcord Records.
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