So I’m laying in bed in my pre-sleep haze with my Ipod on random. And after a few tracks of the expected deathcore, death metal and black metal, my Bose head phones are filled with some just stunning, sumptuous, ultra layered and shimmering post rock acoustics and delicate vocals. I check my Ipod discover the track is “A Cruel Statue” from the Day Without Dawn swansong album, Understanding Consequences. The track eventually peaks with a thunderous Neurosis like climax and Saxophone filled brilliance and I’m drawn in. So I set my Ipod to normal and start the album from the beginning and am just amazed that I have let this band pass me by for so long.

Previously known as The Postman Syndrome and now known as Biclops, this band were apparently a pretty revered but unprolific and unstable lineup plagued act in the Post Rock scene in the mid 90’s and I can see why as this collection of tracks is just an amazing example of a more reflective and delicate version of the genre. I would even go so far as to call this Tool-osis, Neurosis-lite and even Neur-emo-sis, due to the distinct but rather feminine clean vocals of Jim Stang, but with such utterly gorgeous guitar work and some very gruff Steve Von Til vocals to offset the clean vocals the end result of one of the most captivating and hypnotically beautiful releases I’ve heard in a long time.

Folks, on decent headphones, from the emotional depths of opening track “The Wake” to closer to Closer “Undertide” (where I understand a different vocalist takes over from Stang), Understanding Consequences will envelop and enthrall you with its simply entrancing atmospheres and dancing, ethereal moods. Sometimes helped by Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) on saxophone, (“Seducing the Dead”, “A Cruel Statue”) with some Between the Buried Me styled introspection and progression (“Your Diminutive Hand”), a few interludes (“The Sea Of Fertility”, “A Fast-Paced Futuristic Thrill Ride”) the album’s entirety is just a hypnotic journey into cascading acoustics and ultra layered hues that occasionally morph into surprisingly hefty crescendos (“The Wake”, “After the Banquet”, “The Deeper Well”, “The Second to Last Page”) that should appease fans of The Ocean, Cult of Luna and such, but delivered with so much more exquisite guitar wok in between.

Admittedly, the album probably should have ended with “You Diminutive Hand”, as ‘The Undertide” with its different vocalist and more convoluted prose just seems to lack that emotional ‘it” that sucked me in on the rest of the material-maybe Stang’s vocals are just perfect for the music, despite their higher pitch?

Granted, this may be a little too lite a fare (especially Stangs vocals) for most regular readers of this site, but those who appreciate a truly jaw dropping sense of relaxing post rock dramatics and depth, Understanding Consequences is a utterly breathtaking swansong.

[Visit the band's website]

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