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Caravels / Gifts from Enola

Well Worn [12-inch] (2012)
Topshelf Records

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: RENALDO69
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on January 27th 2012

Caravels' new ventures vary a bit from their old records, but don’t abandon totally what they encompassed on their old EPs. On "Sagen Genesis," it's the same field they played on before--a not too cohesive melody but with that inherent knack of knowing just when to change the pace. They step up or step down in good accord and this violent feel is just the kind of varied sound that makes best for the post-hardcore sound. They again thrive off silky guitarwork over the spoken word of their lead, but on "Sagen" it's like a synthetic chorus of whales with the intricate solos and picking strung into the verses. It's soothing and they incorporate that smooth bassline they're accustomed to as they spark their usual the calm before the storm. It's reminiscent of, but still distinguishes from, their old hits such as "Dream Beaver," "Sixty Acres" and "Meat Wave." It's highly similar to recent Troubled Coast material and while at times, it seems that they're taking notes from Saetia, they hold their own well. Again, no doubt there will be comparisons to Bright Calm Blue, Touché Amoré and La Dispute, but this is one of the more coarse efforts out there.

It isn't a sound for those sick of the wave-type bands then. "Beer Pressure" again shows that Caravels matured in the sense that they blend much more slow, harmonic instrumentals into their music rather than their old, hard, fast, in-your-face material as seen on Floorboards and Earthling Sessions. It still is well noted that a lot of people have claimed to be tired of this screamo-speak being the new gospel and while they're right in being critical at times (and yes, this is on the heels of Troubled Coast's last seven-inch) it still isn't right to take away from the effort that Caravels put forth here.

It's the right mix of gruff ferocity and quelled structure in the musical arrangements that perfects that blend which many accuse the wave bands of trying to build their movement on. "Bone Voyage" is symptomatic of that slow/fast formula, and it's not a casualty. It just compounds that this band is pretty good at that change of pace in their songs while keeping that screamo coherence intact. Sometimes its broody, gloomy and too dense for its own good, but with these bands, it's better to be non-specific to that lumbering niche they're trying to carve. These little tune drops, building crescendos and slow bridges are the composition they utilize and if the wave is becoming cliched, then I'm still in. Well Worn puts forth a good temperament from Caravels and at the end, if I had to say what was their 2012 sound akin more to, I'd pick Earthling Sessions, but more refined.

Gifts from Enola represent a more stringent and harder (straightforward instrumental) feel to their songs. It's less cryptic and pretentious in the sense that they come at you with a more turbulent sound and let this speak much louder than spoken word. I get why this sound would be on such a split, yet I think the balance was slightly off. Not taking anything away from either band, the instrumental sound is decent and I guess a little variety is needed, but the latter half of this split I'd enjoy more on something like post-rock Deadhorse. I might be contradicting myself but I guess I have that biased stigma of a few bands I'd like to hear accompany Caravels on this split. "Angel Face" is more built on exquisite guitar work amongst that heavy rampant score. "Water Torture" isn't a bad way to end the split as again, it's a good teaser from both bands.

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gugl0003 (January 28, 2012)

Came for Caravels, stayed for Gifts from Enola.

renaldo69 (January 28, 2012)

silent...agree with you fully.

as for the lack of GFA, i didnt get those songs with the file but managed to score a stream from a site that went down for repair quickly. thus, i could only review GFA after 1 listen on memory so i could not butter them up or bash them. I did not get too long a listen. sadly, this week, i got the entire LP but the review was submitted by that time already

SilentStorms (January 28, 2012)

I have both bands discographies thus far, and I was waaaay more excited to hear the Gifts From Enola side. Why did GFA only get 1 measly paragraph while Caravels got 2? No bigee. I must say though, I was rather disappointed with the 2 GFA songs. I'm still not sure if I dig the vocals in every song, but it works on these 2. These tracks don't seem nearly as epic for a band that released "From Fathoms". That album fucking owns. In my opinion it is better than anything Pelican, Russian Circles and Finger of God ever released.

pornnamesareoverrated (January 27, 2012)

He probably was dicking around. I've never read any interviews with him claiming anything like that, so I would have no way of knowing whether he was being truthful or not. Either way, that was puzzling to me when he said it.

inagreendase (January 27, 2012)

Poster below: Jeremy had to be fucking with you one way or another. He's talked at length in multiple interviews about his screamo fetish and reverence for bands like Pg. 99.

This split's real good, unsurprisingly. Caravels' side is more in line with 'Floorboards' than their last 7-inch. Gifts from Enola's side oddly reminds me of the Coma Recovery's 'Drown That Holy End in Wine'.

eatdogs (January 27, 2012)

"I mentioned that his band reminded me of bands like Saetia and Orchid that I enjoy, and he kind of gave me a quizzical look and said something to the effect of "dude, I've never listened to any of those bands. I don't know if I've even heard of some of them.""

i don't believe that for one bit. he probably gets those comparisons all the freekin' time, either from people meeting him, or by him reading reviews like on punknews. he knows where the source comes from...

pornnamesareoverrated (January 27, 2012)

I was interested in checking this out, and this review sold it.

And you also mentioned Dead Horse. Even if it wasn't in direct correlation to either of these bands, that's still rad. They played an art space to 7 people and killed it.

And in regards to people being sick the Wave bands (Touche Amore, La Dispute? They're part of that "wave" thing I keep reading about right?). I find it interesting that they compare these bands only because I spent a little while talking with Jim Bolm after T.A.'s set when they were on tour with Lewd Acts and Converge. I mentioned that his band reminded me of bands like Saetia and Orchid that I enjoy, and he kind of gave me a quizzical look and said something to the effect of "dude, I've never listened to any of those bands. I don't know if I've even heard of some of them." And I know that doesn't really matter. But still, the fact that this dude doesn't even recognize the bands people hate his band for, claiming T.A. is jocking on them is just kind of laughable to me.

/end ponderous thought