The Roots of Orchis - The Red House in Winter
(Slowdance)
These guys pass the "sounds like" rule which is, if you can sum up a
band's
sound by referencing only two bands, they're much easier to dismiss.
Whereas if it takes a third reference then they probably have something
worth paying attention to. The three bands I would use to reference The
Roots of Orchis would be: Brokeback, Tristeza, and Jessamine.
I cite Brokeback because they have a jazzy plunky bend to their
songwriting.
The style itself is very Tristeza in the way the two guitars work
together ,
accenting melodies while a bass occasionally grooves along with the
drums.
Finally, I include Jessamine simply for the sweeping keyboard aspect.
It
plays a very important role in the Roots of Orchis' songs, adding
dimension to the songs.
The Roots of Orchis have certainly developed their own breed of
post-rock.
There are a lot of brilliant moments on this album, and a few that just
do not work for me. All of the parts going create a mishmash of swirling
melodies and rhythms, which I love especially when it is done within the
framework of a pop song.
The parts I do not like are when one of the
melodies gets pronounced by having more than one instrument play it at
once.
During these parts, The Roots of Orchis can sound a little dopey or
circus-y
when pushed into the forefront like that. There are plenty of times
when
melodies are made obvious and it sounds really great, so this isn't a
common
problem in their songs, just occasional. Also, the parts I don't like
are
far outweighed by the gorgeous interplay permeating every song.
|
