Album Review: I Am Sonic Rain - Between Whales & Feverish Lights

Recently Deep Elm Records has been adding numerous post-rock acts to its roster; Goonies Never Say Die, Dorena, Last Lungs and now I Am Sonic Rain. On paper 'Between Whales & Feverish Lights' sounds promising, with the label suggesting it is a release for fans of Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Ros, Mogwai and Godspeed You Back Emperor, all of whom are popular within the genre, and in some cases have made it bigger.

However 'Between Whales...' ultimately is disappointing and turns out being your usual instrumental post-rock album; its beautifully atmospheric, uplifting and inspiring yet it lacks originality. Each track is drawn out with most tracks passing the five minute mark, although the bands understanding of the genre is accurate, their influences are a little too obvious; 'Fog Is Drowning Us' for example has a Sigur Ros-like chord progression that is effective but is all too reminiscent of the latter. Whereas the bands Explosion In The Sky influence is seen at various points, see 'As Rain We Fall' and 'Days All Seem The Same'.

Despite its major flaws, I Am Sonic Rain's understanding and intelligent structures are creditable but as a whole, 'Between Whales & Feverish Lights' falls into being labelled as a generic post-rock release that overall intimidates its predecessors, rather than developing and adapting it.

2/5

'Between Whales & Feverish Lights' by I Am Sonic Rain is available now on Deep Elm Records.

I Am Sonic Rain on MySpace

Sean Reid