“How A Clock Becomes A Ruler” is a new release by Violetera, an outstanding instrumental band based in Portland, Oregon. It’s their fourth full-length album, arriving after “Before It Takes Us,” “A Landmark, Not A Beacon,” and ” 1609,” three critically acclaimed works that you should immediately check out. It consists of seven excellent compositions that will unquestionably appeal to anyone looking for expertly assembled and flawlessly performed music. Soundwise, Violetera combines several complementary music genres to illustrate such rich and luxurious sonic imagery. Perhaps post-rock comes to mind first, but you’ll notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from post-hardcore, math rock, and shoegaze found their way into this sonic equation. They use all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift their compositions to new heights while remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. They tastefully implement all those sonic ingredients into particular sonic and rhythmic maneuvers or entire segments without overwhelming their post-rock core. Therefore, these experimentations with different but complementary genres resulted in a magnificent album that will immediately resonate with even the pickiest post-rock enthusiasts.
With the initial notes and beats, you’ll realize these folks are not joking around with their sound. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, adorned with many intricate segments, brilliant ideas, and superb musicianship. Perhaps they exclude vocals from their numbers but it’s not like you’ll need any thanks to their boundless creativity and a perfect sense for songwriting. As soon as the first notes of “Wearing Thin” commence, you’ll notice Violetera put a lot of effort, heart, and soul into this release. The marvelous themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, riffs, and other sonic delicacies delivered by a skillful guitar player set the tone for the entire album. The rhythm section gradually builds the tension and release with equally detailed, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines and incredible, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. These folks left no room for mistakes, and each note and beat is executed with such precision and finesse. “Starlings Over Rome” carries those mid to late nineties math-rock vibes, thanks to profoundly complex chord progressions. You’ll also hear how the song travels into more post-hardcore waters where Violetera introduces more heaviness, power, and aggression into their music. Those are the moments when experimentations with cleverly arranged rhythmic patterns shine in the limelight. Still, Violetera knows when to return to more subtle, delicate yet complex post-rock and math-rock segments, emphasizing technically demanding instrumentations in a much calmer, soothing, relaxing, ethereal way. “Distant Cousins” is another brilliant composition where calm orchestrations gradually evolve into more progressive sonic and rhythmic maneuvers, showcasing Violetera’s ability to write, compose, arrange, and produce emotionally resonant and complex tracks where even the tiniest details and nuances sound divine. This track arrives with a marvelous theme delivered through intricate, atmospheric chord progressions while the rhythm section keeps the beats subtle like jazz drummers would do. However, “Distant Cousins” has those colossal moments where the entire band shines with immense power without sacrificing those emotional, beautiful, cathartic, ambient moments. It’s the post-rock at its finest.
The beauty of this band lies in their capability to convey an entire amalgam of emotion through beautiful instrumental songs. Whether we’re talking about divine guitar works, equally intricate low-ends, or intricate drumming patterns, Violetera shines with sheer brilliance. “Magpie” exemplifies their dedication to the craft. It’s another standout track where each instrument articulates with mindblowing precision. It’s one of that compositions where you hear that these experienced musicians do it for the love of post-rock. These passionate, soulful, sincere, confident instrumentations resonate with such emotional depth, making “Magpie” such a fine piece of sonic artistry that will force you to spin this post-rock gem all over again. “First Blush” immediately transports you to the best years for math-rock, post-hardcore, and emo music with all those complex arpeggiated chord progressives. The guitar works sound more massive, bringing delicate aggression, power, and tension. The same goes for the bass, as this particular instrument brings more heaviness, clarity, and depth to an already powerful track. Once again, the drummer keeps everything in line, dictates groove and tempo, but also takes some time to experiment with intricate beats, fills, and accentuations. It’s another standout piece that showcases the creativity of this marvelous band. “Asavari” continuously levitates between old school and modern post-hardcore sound, with touches of post-rock included along the way. Like any other experimentation explored on this magnificent full-length, this style suits the band pretty well, as they showcase another barrage of wisely written and composed orchestrations. You’ll notice how every upcoming segment delivers even more sonic delicacies, making this piece of music even more enjoyable and remarkable. This epic sonic journey comes to an end with “New York Skeleton Blues,” a perfect closing track that encompasses everything you heard on this incredible album. It’s a marvelous post-rock with so many levitations towards post-hardcore, but the band keeps their sonic maneuvers calm and moderate as much as possible. Still, you’ll hear how the band unleashes some wild, heavy, powerful rhythmic, and sonic acrobatics, finishing “How A Clock Becomes A Ruler” with a bang.
Honestly, post-rock music cannot get better than this. Violetera has created a masterpiece fully stacked with some of the finest instrumentations and ideas you’ll hear in a while. Through their impressive signature moves, they break all the rules and shapeshift the boundaries of so many different but complementary music genres while demonstrating their tremendous experience, knowledge, skills, and talent. “How A Clock Becomes A Ruler” is one of those records you should immediately place on your music radar. It will undoubtedly become your go-to material whenever you crave expertly composed and flawlessly performed post-rock music. “How A Clock Becomes A Ruler” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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