Thisquietarmy/syndrome
The Lonely Mountain
After stunning split albums with Aidan Baker, Year of no Light, Labirinto e.a., Canada's thisquietarmy now teams up with Belgium's Syndrome. Musically, this collaboration seems self-evident. Both bands share a common view on crafting exhilarating soundscapes, and seamlessly blend ambient, drone and post rock elements to thrust their songs to cathartic climaxes. Yet, this release is less self-evident than the premise of this match up suggests. Taking cue from each other's work, both bands were driven to explore a different approach to their craft and aesthetic. This collaboration is dark and brooding, and explores the boundaries of atonal chaos and noise. Thisquietarmy and Syndrome manage to capture the essence of aural discord, and succeed to restrain, mold and craft it into this fine collection powerful songs. Thisquietarmy and Syndrome transcend the concept of "a collaborational album", and present a dynamic and potently coherent album. The album comes with a bonus track of a live collaborations between thisquietarmy and Syndrome, recorded during the joint leg of their 2013 tour at Magasin4 (Brussels).