pg.lost
Versus
(Pelagic Records)
Swedish instrumental rock group pg.lost seem to get lost in the shuffle of other, more notable instrumental acts. It’s not for a lack of trying. Their previous three records have run the gamut from good to very good, in large part because they sound like a band who writes music in jam sessions, as opposed to other post-rock groups who sound like they plot out everything beforehand like some type-A soccer mom. In fact, the group are traditionally a band who have written while in jam sessions, and it’s allow their music to feel more organic and less sterile, although their compositions always felt like they weren’t as tight as their contemporaries, which makes sense. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t thing.
For their fourth record, pg.lost decided to pre-write more material beforehand, and the results paid off immensely. Their sound hasn’t changed all that much, except for two very welcome changes. First, the music is definitely heavier, occasionally veering in sludgy post-metal territory. Second, Versus represents the band’s best songwriting to date. These songs constantly feel like they have forward momentum. Although “Monolith” is the closest you get to a disappointment- it doesn’t quite go as far as it could; it’s a slow-build that just sizzles instead of igniting. Aside from that, these songs are powerful and impressive and certainly are head and shoulders above what the band was doing (and that was already good). They’ve perfected a style that sort of their own, which is impressive in instrumental music. It’s somewhere between Russian Circles’ windy post-metal, 65daysofstatic’s electronic rock, and Caspian’s haunting dreamscapes. The seven songs offer up some impressive diversity, playing around with pg.lost’s sound while still being cohesive within the album.
Overall, this is about as close as you’re going to get to a new post-rock masterpiece. pg.lost have toyed with excellence, but they’ve achieved it finally with the impressive Versus. Were they to trim down “Monolith” (or really any other track, as it’s just too long for its own good), this could be reaching perfection. As it is, the Swedish group finally hit greatness with album number four.
Purchase Versus here: CD | Vinyl | iTunes
