YorkeDaddy

pg.lost - Key

Some albums warrant a track-by-track dissection but I do not believe that this album does.

I will start by saying that I definitely enjoy this album. I listened to it twice - once through consecutively and a second time that was a bit more fragmented because I kept having to go do other things. I would describe it as very pleasant and well-executed.

I do have some other points to make though, and I don't necessarily want to call these negatives but they might read that way. The first point is that I have heard extremely similar music before, and I'm intrigued to hear Ki's thoughts on those other artists and why he views this album as his favorite. I would consider Explosions in the Sky, for example, to be just like this except a bit more dynamic. Throughout "Key" I found myself hoping for something to spice up the tracks, maybe introduce a new instrument or completely different idea. These guys are great at writing a soft, meandering guitar riff and layering everything well while sprinkling in some crunchier distortion at the right moments, and if they set out to write an album that displays that particular skill throughout they definitely did a great job. But I found little that set this album apart from other post-rock albums I've dabbled in.

Shortly after I finished this album for the 2nd time, I went and listened to an old classic: Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven". The albums are very similar in structure and goals, but GY!BE packs so many interesting instrumental variations and ideas that make it a much more dynamic listen for me. It feels like a journey with highs and lows, while "Key" feels like a collection of tracks that are all undeniably well-executed but feel disjointed. It's a post-rock album for the sake of being a post-rock album, while the great albums of the genre (imo) tend to create more explosive, memorable pieces.

I'm sorry if this feels like it has devolved into less of a review of "Key" and more of a comparison to other similar albums, but it's hard to write a lot about "Key" itself given the structure and style of music that it is.

I would consider "Terrain" to be easily my favorite of the bunch, featuring some of the more catchy guitar moments of the album and a more aggressive, focused song structure. Every other song on the record otherwise can be summed up quite simply: soft guitar, then hard guitar, then soft guitar, then hard guitar to close. Or vise versa on "Sheaves," for example, which starts out a bit harder and then fluctuates between softer guitar and then circles back to the crunchy riff that opened the song for the closer.

I would say 54 minutes is too long for this record, but again, I find it to be enjoyable and can't really say anything necessarily bad about it. I just don't see myself revisiting this album if I'm ever in the mood for this type of music, because I feel there are more unique experiences out there to listen to instead. I would definitely love to hear the reasoning that this album in particular stands out for you, Ki. But if you don't even necessarily have a reason, that's cool too. Sometimes an album just speaks to you in a special way, and that's what is great about music.

For me, though, this album gets a solid 6.5/10.

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The Batlord

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Key

I honestly don't really have a good reason as to why this album resonates with me. I think it was a mixture of what was going on in my life during the time that I found this album while simultaneously trying to dive into this genre a lot more. Your comparisons make perfect sense because while I was searching through bands like Godspeed You! and Explosions, I came across pg.lost. The name alone made me want to check them out, and Key was the first album I ever heard from them. I had heard singles and stuff before, but I hadn't actually had a full album experience with this band until Key came out.

It just stands out to me and it always has. Certain emotions connect to the songs for me so it has that aspect as well. So i certainly understand your whole review and I appreciate you giving it a shot.

YorkeDaddy

70 minutes?!

Also I refuse to believe this is your favorite album, but I'm going to give it a very serious listen and review regardless.

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YorkeDaddy

Nothing wrong with that at all dude, I'm glad I was finally able to give it a listen. I look forward to reviewing some of your most recent Cats with Hats material soon too.

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The Batlord

I refuse to believe Ki likes a post-rock album that much.

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Key

Stoked to hear your thoughts on it as I've been trying to grow a lot musically.

YorkeDaddy

Never heard it, actually. I've only heard "Live at the Witch Trials" by The Fall, and I don't remember it much. Back when I was first really starting to get into music I had a hard time finding anything by The Fall on torrent websites. I remember looking for their music in particular for quite a while but never really being able to find anything.

Thank goodness for Spotify

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YorkeDaddy

All I'll say is I was hoping you'd give me some metal

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Frownland

No metal, but you do get a gold medal when you listen to an ICP album all the way through. If you unwrap the medal, there's chocolate inside.

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