When you hear that a band is on a label like Epitaph your mind straight away thinks Punk Rock. I mean this was the label set up by a member of Bad Religion. Here though with The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (that is one hell of a band name right?) and latest record Harmlessness, the apple couldn’t have fallen further from the punk rock tree but it tastes just as good!
The Connecticut band, with an ever expanding and changing line up, deliver an album of pure beauty. It’s a vast range of post-rock, atmospheric soundcapes and beautifully shaped songwriting that aims directly for the feelings. Songs like ‘January 10th’ fires straight for the heart and soul. Coming across like a mixture of Death Cab For Cutie, Drugstore with a slice of the Polyphonic Spree. It’s a song that builds with a dual male and female vocal that compliment the music perfectly and make you really want to listen deep. Be warned though the lyrical content gets quite chilling.
This isn’t the sort of album where you should be just looking at certain tracks though as this is an album that should be heard in full. There is so much here to drag you in. Bands like this can easily get a little too pretentious but on Harmlessness they do very well to miss that pothole. There is at times a pop sensibility to the writing. There are many subtle nuances but by word they know how to also write a strong hook and melodies galore, check ‘Ra Patera Dance’ and you will see exactly what we mean.
The World Is A Beautiful Place…… have delivered something quite amazing here. Harmlessness is a gorgeous sounding album, it’s atmospheric, it’s euphoric, it is heart wrenching at times. This is what you want from music, something that stirs emotions, opens up old feelings and memories that have long been locked away. A stunning piece of work.
