You cannot afford to miss the new record “The View from Nowhere” if you are a fan of modern progressive rock.
The album experiments with the monotonous structural foundations, while trying to draw you into the glory of nihilism. And when you have reached that space, you will find yourself, left hanging and full of precarious anticipation on the threat of a wavering note. Then all of a sudden, you are plunged into the watery chasms of bass chord.
Here is what the band members would describe best if asked about what the album is all about –
“Take a dash of Tool and a sprig of Oceansize. Place in a mortar bowl then grind with the blunt end of an Amplifier until ready. Serve.”
There will be some parts that you will find a little bit slow. At the same time, you would also experience the sudden change in pace, especially in the areas where there are twisting levels of impact and force. The band members have the ability to plait the listener into the storytelling by manipulating the mood. For instance, when you will start to categorize them into the stack of hard rock bands, the members will counter you with a stab of soft Placebo or a grungy riff.
The mathematic grind of Fing will be familiar turf to progressive fans, but a segue into Exchange Expression finds the band at the door of Massive Attack’s dark ambient opus Mezzanine. The Bass parts echo the Deftones at their most groove-oriented clash with a powerful atmosphere and melodic vocals.
All in all, you will still enjoy listening to the songs if you are into melodic rock, lilting, and just good music in general.
‘Camouflage’ is a beautiful epic and moody song that leaves a soft, eerie as well as a lasting impact — the aural equivalent of cold shivers. It’s a about someone watching you across the room but someone whom you cannot see. The figure is almost not there, fading like mist and cobwebs in the breeze yet somehow producing prickles down your spine.
Then there is this another song called ‘Rudey Montgomery’. The song grounds the listener with a steady, “Queens of the Stone Age” style tune; which grips on to you and reasserts the world of the living.
It’s easy to squint and imagine this is a new Steven Wilson collaboration, such is the quality and apparent affinity of purpose. That’s not to say that Master And The Mule aren’t any more than the sum of their influences. Towards the end of the album they truly find their voice on Mekanum and Rudey Montgomery, a brace of stunningly kinetic, cinematic compositions.
Listening to the album, it felt that they had a lot of thinking going on in there in both the composition and the technical build up. And worth listening to.
Here is the link to the album –
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ob4e0QKdOwMd56F5lUx3H?si=zY4FjkPvRwC4Ttdh6W8dBA
https://masterandthemule.bandcamp.com/album/the-view-from-nowhere
https://www.facebook.com/MasterandMule/