ALBUM REVIEW: Cold Waves Divide Us – Midas Fall
If any genre stands by the old adage that an album should take you on a coherent journey, it’s post-rock. That’s exactly what acclaimed Scottish outfit MIDAS FALL, centred around the duo of founding members Elizabeth Heaton and Rowan Burn, set out to do and achieve with their fifth full-length offering Cold Waves Divide Us. Recently joined by Michael Hamilton, the three multi-instrumentalists deliver a beautifully emotive statement.
The album opens with In The Morning We’ll Be Someone Else which builds up steam steadily, blossoming from an enthralling soundscape of electronica into a dramatic post-rock crescendo of strings and wall-of-sound guitars, spearheaded by Heaton’s soaring vocals. On I Am Wrong, the pounding drums act not just as a rhythmic foundation but as musical hooks in their own right, before breaking down into a conclusion of HOLY FAWN-esque proportions. It is such moments of crushing heaviness that the band profess to have consciously sought adding, in order to better capture how they sound live.
That said, MIDAS FALL have not turned their back on their lighter side. In This Avalanche is a gentle post-rock ballad that showcases Heaton’s expressive vocals and personal lyrics, setting them atop a spacious sound-palette of strings, clean guitars and expansive percussion. The cinematic quality of the trio’s songs is reminiscent of instrumental bands like NORDIC GIANTS or WE LOST THE SEA, with Heaton’s catchy melodies adding a sense of urgency and directness. This helps MIDAS FALL avoid some of the more self-indulgent leanings of the genre, instead always keeping an ear for the hook. The variety is also helped by the rich instrumental vocabulary, such as the luscious synths of Point Of Diminishing Return which are crowned with a heart-wrenching melody from what resembles a saxophone.
That the record is the true artistic expression of MIDAS FALL is further certified by its production credits, with all recording, mixing and mastering duties handled by Heaton. The sound is expansive and pristine, with many melodies and effects hiding amidst the wide soundstage. This contributes to the floating, ethereal quality of Cold Waves Divide Us – even at its heavier moments it has a lightness of touch. If there’s a criticism that could be levelled at the record, it’s that it doesn’t assert itself as much as it probably could; rather than take you by the hand and bring you in, it merely leaves the door open, leaving it at the whims of the listener’s attention span whether they’ll invest sufficient care to explore its layers. If they do so, they will be rewarded with a delicate, sonically rich listen.
Rating: 8/10
Cold Waves Divide Us is out now via Monotreme Records.
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