Solitary Confinement: A Review of Soledad’s Soledad

Most great music eludes definition. Thus, genres have now become a muddle of vague accusations that fail to capture a true character of the music under discussion. One cannot claim that Tom Waits has merely repeated patterns for albums as diverse as Small Change and Real Gone. One who claims that Jose Gonzales is just some flamenco tinted acoustic music ignores the darker influences of Black Flag and the Misfits present in Gonzales’ musical background.

The problem of definition is an apparent problem for the young Kentish band Soledad. Throughout the self-recorded and self-released, eponymous debut album, Soledad eludes definition. The band themselves call their sound a mixture of jazz, folk and progressive music. Others quite accurately describe the style as “epic folk”, or “cinematic folk”. Just as well, the music recorded by primarily the co-operation of two guitars, sounding simultaneously intimate and operatic, could be called “unplugged post-rock”. The Soledad album bears the appearance of a relative of a Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Sigur Ros or Rachel’s recording, except during a power cut.

Yes, folk elements appear. The primary instruments used are an acoustic guitar and a classical guitar, played by David and Ben, respectively. Thus, the superficial appearance of the band is akin to a typical folk-duo. However, the two members work on contrasting levels. David provides the primary song structure, while layers of sounds from Ben’s classical guitar elevate the song through complex textures. This happens during tracks like ‘At Speed Wistful Badger’ or ‘Cuban Felling Disaster’. The correspondence of two guitars conversing carries Soledad beyond the limits of the folk genre.

Indeed, the songs on the album feature jazz-scales, and can develop to ever-ascending heights from the initial backbone of the track. Songs like the constantly developing ‘Holiday’ or the hilariously titled ‘What Rhymes With James Blunt?’ begin with one form, and then transform the strings of the guitars to jumping boards to take the song to new, surprisingly euphoric directions. However, although the songs flow organically, each separate section of a given track seems to serve a constant development in purpose and meaning. The consequential effect bears more resemblance to composed classical movements than Jazz improvisation.

Soledad definitely sounds like a ‘progressive’ recording. However, considering the relatively mellow, relaxed and drug-induced numbness present in the stereotypical progressive bands, Soledad again operate on higher plateaus. There is always something dangerous looming in the background in the songs. The opener ‘Conversation’ builds with an intensity and precision akin to a Hitchcock film. Due to the unpredictable movements of the songs, even the more serene events of the album, such as ‘Instrumental’ promise no safe chance to relax. Some ball of sound might always explode and threaten any foolish attempt to pin down the mood of an individual song. Enigmatic and elusive rather than conceited and predictable, Soledad actually sound more progressive than traditional prog-combos.

Still, why choose the alternative, slightly ridiculous depictions of the band’s sound? The answer lies in the album’s concluding track. In nine minutes and ten seconds, ‘Looming’ takes the listener on a journey. The song begins with pounding, instantly threatening strumming. The movement of the guitars develops in intensity, building a sense of impending doom. Then, a serene section surfaces all of a sudden. The song breaks into a series of different movements. The two guitarists operate as distinct, individual sounds, working akin to vocal duets. The resulting sound is atmospheric, organic and intimate. The mood of the song changes from heart stopping beauty to violent intense chaos, in just a blink of an eye. The tones can change suddenly, but without sounding fragmented. As a unified piece, ‘Looming’ seemingly never ceases building, and then it appears to end at the height of its chaos. However, the song presents a final surprise, as the vocals return, and both members sing “so happy now the day is here but/ the streaming light plays havoc with me”. The song comes full circle. The end sounds akin to the general atmosphere of the track: simultaneously both sinister and serene.

The experience of listening to ‘Looming’ reveals Soledad’s craft of atmospheres. Possibly due to the various different influences of musical styles, the band produce music that matches the epic qualities of the bands labelled with the deplorable ‘post-rock’ title. The tracks bear equal quantities of layered nuances, rapid changes and a tension that perpetually builds the procession to new heights. Yet, all this is achieved by acoustic, and organic aural landscapes. Soledad resembles bands like Sigur Ros in their deceptive simplicity, and the pairing of seemingly paradoxical qualities. With sounds that are organic and ethereal, intimate and epic, graceful and menacing, the co-operation of two musicians renders the album to an experience that grows in complexities during each listen.

The album, in the end, defies the solitary confinement of genres. The band may then freely call their styles a jazzy, folky progressive companionship that produces epic and cinematic songs akin to the atmospheric qualities of post-rock, for this is the required depiction to give even the vaguest idea of the music. Yet, even with such ludicrous titles and descriptions, one can put the record on and the songs reveal yet another, previously unseen face.

As such, the music on Soledad has much more to say for itself. There remains the uplifting ecstasy of ‘Instrumental’, the euphoric finale to ‘Holiday’, the crude frustration of ‘Old Wives’ Tale’, and the eager joy of ‘Savecevic with the Lob’. The heartbreaking moods of the cello arrangements during ‘Hecate’ indicate that Soledad have capacity to expand upon their already rich palette of song writing. Continuously intriguing, this debut effort demands attention for an extended period of time.

You can hear Soledad’s work, and get in touch with the band through:

www.myspace.com/soledaduk

By Juha Virtanen

Copyright April 2006