There Is No Year - Algiers: Review
is a Georgia based experimental rock band who emerged earlier this decade with a unique and rootsy take on Post-Punk. There Is No Year is their third record and looks to follow in the footsteps of their politically charged and instrumentally exciting first two records.
Review By Lavender:
I can't say I've been head over heels for Algiers so far. They are from my adopted hometown of Atlanta and play an explosive brad of post-punk that I enjoy. Their records are both solid and I like plenty of the bands tracks but as a whole I thought the records were good, and just that. After some inconsistent singles leading up to the album I had a feeling we were heading towards the same kind of release, but There Is No Year may be the weakest of Algiers three good records.
The lead single Dispossession absolutely rules with a dominating lead vocal performance that emerges from rapid fire melodies across the track. The instrumental is driving and intricate with a backing chorus and full bodied wailing of keys that I think is excellent. The second single serves as the closing song and I didn't like it nearly as much. There is a pretty cool instrumental but the lead vocal passage is so difficult to take seriously as it aims to be jittery and fast but comes off far to cringey. Thankfully they got back on the right track with the third single We Can't Be Found which was a quieter tune that is a little aimless in the beginning but really kicks off in the end with a raspy vocal melody and a huge instrumental swell.
Usually when this record brings its highest energy it pays off with good tunes. Hour Of The Furnaces has a great swelling chorus and politically charged lyrics. The verses are a little bit of a low but they set up well for the killer hook and instrumental rush with some fantastic percussion. Chaka is a cool song that introduces some jungle percussion with wild and charismatic lead vocals and a constantly shifting and evolving instrumental that was one of my favorites.
The second half of the record has some pretty rewarding tracks that don't take such a high octane approach. Wait For The Sound is one of the best of the softer songs with a powerful lead vocal performance and some booming all-encompassing drums. The haunting keys that kick off in the tracks second half make for one of the records fullest experiences. The closing track Nothing Bloomed is probably the most epic of the songs here with its absolutely apocalyptic sound palette made from dense layers of instrumentation including some dystopian percussion.
Unfortunately when this record slows down it really hits the breaks on good songwriting and even lacks on some of the more energetic cuts. There Is No Year really gets off to a great start but never really does anything with its momentum it just kind of rests on it a loops for a bit of wasted potential. Losing Is Ours is way too quiet of a song that has absolutely no bite to it whatsoever even in its most dramatic moments. Unoccupied has an ugly two-step percussion loop that lasts the entire track and is so uninteresting on top of not really matching with anything else in the song. Finally Repeating Night rides a heavy and fuzzy distorted guitar riff that makes the rest of the mix feel totally flat. The song just falls a little flat for me with absolutely no progression or any real climax.
There Is No Year has some fantastic moments that continue to show off Algiers as a groundbreaking rock group, but it comes in between plenty other weak songs that fill out the tracklist here. With more worthwhile tracks than not it is definitely still a record worth diving into for post-punk fans and anyone that enjoyed the bands previous two albums. 5.5/10
