Post metal made it big. Very big. But big things fall fucking flat on their face, and hard. There seems to be an abundance of a 'post metal sold out' opinion everywhere - rightfully so probably even. Yeah, I get that Pelican are getting too gay for your tastes, that Isis are losing their balls, that Cult Of Luna are no longer kvlt and I can even sympathize with your claim that Neurosis are the only worthy torch bearers of the genre. True, this whole atmospheric sludge business has turned into a sickeningly stagnant pond of rehashed ideas with bands piggybacking on the same damn formulae that were chalked out when the said form of music started coming to prominence. I follow a similar view as well - I'm dead bored of bands aping the same riffs over and over again, going at lengths about how meaningful their album is and how the sunset on their album cover is a pictorial adage about the intricacies of life itself. Fuck that. The problem with this viewpoint however is that bands labeling their music as 'melodic atmospheric sludge' with album artwork lying in an area eagerly awaiting a 'post' prefix-stamp can easily slip under the radar of a true aficionado of the genre - however be the quality of music on offer. Boston trio Disappearer fall into this category and as a fan of the genre, I'm pleased to report that the music on offer is promising.

The first thing that appealed to me about the record was the great quality of production. The guitars are raw and fresh with high doses of fuzz injected into 'em. The drums sound organic and though Matt Spearin, the drummer, doesn't do anything particularly special, he maintains an excellent groove around the clock. The riffs in themselves are mostly groove-centric and there's no empty two-bit post rock noodlings to be heard of. The album is all about straight-up 4/4 chord-driven sludge, moving majestically through melodic scales containing the characteristic sprawling nature that is associated with post-metal. I especially like it when they bring in arpeggiated chords on top of the thick slab of slush, paving way for some catchy as hell material. The song structures aren't terribly inventive or technical, but the sort of cohesion that the band has going for them is brilliant and this facet overshadows most flaws (which are far and few – including a couple of weak harmonies and some hollow sounding passages). Jebb Riley, the bassist-vocalist, has an almost ritualistically monotonic voice and it fits the music well - lying slightly low in the mix, layered with reverb.

There's a great low-lying bass sound to The Clearing and the drum-bass syncopation is notable as well; Glassland, one of the album highlights, being prime example of this trait. A Skull Full Of Bats is the perfect album opener enticing the listener to dive headfirst into their music - these guys mean business - no ten minute buildup and no dearth of riffs either. Along with these two, Etched is another great song which wouldn't have been out of place on Australasia. The first half trounces the latter half in terms of catchiness and the last few songs sort of drag on, but every song has the one or two completely enjoyable groove.

Moral of the story: try not to miss out on this triplet from Boston who have made their mark with a very impressive debut in The Clearing. If you liked Pelican’s first (and best) album, Australasia or their self titled EP, or more recently, Russian Circles’ Station, Capricorns’ River, Bear Your Bones or even something along the lines of Rebreather's Sunflower, with its similar brand of catchy sludge, then this album is most definitely for you.

Label - Trash Art!
Year of Release - 2009