Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Rachel's
• Album: Systems/layers
• Label: Quarterstick
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: on 2006-10-18

Eight years after releasing their stellar “Handwriting” LP, Rachel’s is still creating and experimenting with their sound. The Louisville trio, who is accompanied by as many as forty people on a record, makes heavily atmospheric classical music that is often classified as “classical post-rock”. They have the oddly melodic, sparse notes and textures of Slint, with the instrumentation and arrangements of a classical ensemble. On “Systems/Layers”, Rachel’s collaborated with the SITI Company theatre group to score a production of the same title, and subsequently released this gem. The record is spacey, haunting, and powerful, putting an incredible arsenal of sound to work, from a lush string section to thick field recordings. On the second track, “Water From The Same Source”, Rachel’s shows a much more minimalist approach to their songs, beginning with light cymbal taps, and adding strings and piano, building on a theme up to the song’s abrupt climax. It feels like this is the record that Rachel’s has been striving to make for a long time: deeply inspired, and heartbreakingly pretty. This is also the album that most shows them with their feet firmly planted in the genre of post-rock. The spare use of notes against long, calming tones and cryptic audio clips on the song “4 or 5 Trees” is highly reminiscent of a much less apocalyptic Godspeed You! Black Emperor. If post-rock is truly all about texture, then Rachel’s does not disappoint. In my personal experience, this album is the ideal soundtrack to a long train ride through unfamiliar land, especially in the dead of night. Buy this record and let yourself get entranced.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums