Closure in Moscow - First Temple

Closure in Moscow - First Temple

Let's talk about Closure in Moscow's breakthrough album, First Temple. This is one of the greatest CDs you've never heard about, for many MANY reasons. They've got versatile influences, a unique style, and a catchy chorus to back all of it up. Straight from Australia they bring originality to the table in North America, and get away from the straight four four feel that most of our popular bands tend to conform to.

Their influences are what brings them so much originality. You can almost taste the Mars Volta in their style, with sporadic lyrics and metaphors. The band has also been compared to Saosin and Circa Survive, relating to the time signature changes and avant-garde feel to their melodic progressions. Vocally, they seem to be inspired by the 70s rock bands such Rush and Yes, and the use of falsetto pins them right beside the beegees in some songs. With all of that versatility, it'd be hard not to find something you like about this album.

Instrumentally, first temple has a collection of virtuosity like no other modern album. The guitar never stops. Barret's guitar simply glides through what seems like solo after solo, never stopping to even contemplate a time signature change. The math involved must have been excruciating. Kimber's bass holds the funk side of the CD up, keeping the songs poppy and catchy, while at the same time showing his incredible talent with his instrument. Also, the bass doesn't only hold up a rhythm on this album, it also chugs along with the melody, and sometime is the only melody itself. The drums speak for themselves. In a mathy, jumpy sort of tune, the drums are responsible for keeping the transitions clean, while cutting the song up just enough for someone to realize that it's fallen from 4/4 time. This is done with impeccable skill and precision, sometimes filling an entire bar with complicated breaks and rudiments.

Let's talk about some songs individually.

Afterbirth

This is the first song I came across by this band, and it stuck me. I love the Mars Volta, and this is very reminiscent of their style. The use of octave change effects and a hard hitting rhythm catch the listener by the feet and pull them along for the ride. The chorus repeats the same lyrics for the first few times, "Do you FEEL that FEEL that." It gives you the chance to sing along after hearing it only once, which Randy Bachman once said was a sign of a great single. Ripe with key changes and sharp melodies, this is one of the great defining songs of the style.

A Night at the Spleen

Dancey. If the word existed, it would be the best way to describe this song. The introduction to the song gives you no inclination that it will become the fast paced dance song that it is. We're brought into the first chorus with the lyrics "So let's sing together," and with that, you're once again taken for a wild musical ride. The song has falsetto placed harmonically through most of it's vocal passages, really accentuating the Beegees-esque influence in their cleverly crafted style. To really hear the talent Barret has for creating a unique solo style, the first guitar solo is a great example. It's unlike anything you can hear in popular music today because of it's jazz shred hybrid. This song is the pop song of the album, and a good choice to listen to first if you're going to buy or download the CD.

Permafrost

The Mars Volta are famous for their clever sound engineering and incredible use of calculated noise. Permafrost is Closure in Moscow's display of their talents in this sense. It's not a catchy song by any means, but the ambient feel of the melody causes the listener to be taken the right setting for the song that follows. If I could compare it to anything by another band I would have to choose the four minute introduction the the Mars Volta's "Miranda that Ghost that Isn't Holy anymore." It has the same ambient feeling, with less trumpets.

Just go out, and buy the album, it's something worth listening to, and it may even be a gateway to a new genre that you've yet to experience.

-Jeff