The Scottish indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks returns with their third album, “Unravelling.” This time, the band focuses on a more contemplative and softer side of the rock scene. As a result, the vocals end up taking a backseat to the much more prominent guitar strums and drum beats.
The album misleads with its opening song “Safety in Numbers,” arguably the fastest paced of the songs in the album. However, on the standpoint of creating an impressionable introduction, the song does a fine job.
It begins with almost vintage synth chords before the drums and guitars begin to work their way in and ends rather ominously, foreshadowing the upcoming material.
Sadly, the problem with the vocals rears its head. Simply put, the sound is there, but the precise words are lost among the much louder instrumentals. It is a shame that the meaning becomes lost as the vocals match the rhythm of the instruments very well. One almost gets the feeling that the instruments are intended to tell more of the story than the vocals are.
From that point on, the album becomes something of a mix of moods. The tone never really descends into depression, though the album seems rather indecisive in determining whether its songs should be hopeful or sinister.
However, many of the songs play around with their respective moods fairly well. More importantly, many of the songs are fairly laid back overall, arousing more of a sense of contemplation than excitement.
The song “Peace Sign” demonstrates the laid back aspect of the album best, in addition to being a fairly good song. It begins with an excellent series of guitar riffs before introducing a drum beat that works harmoniously with the guitar. Additionally, it is one of the few songs where the vocals are fairly audible. Most importantly, the lyrics fit in really well.
“Night Terror” in comparison brings out the more sinister sounds. Its strong bass line and guitar plucks underscore vocals that invoke a particularly troubling night out in the city. Further adding to the mood is the rather harsh guitar that plays during the second half. Despite this or maybe because of it, the song still manages to be one of the most impressive overall.
The songs that follow, such as “A Part of It” and “Moral Compass,” take the dark moods of “Night Terror” and raise them to unsettling levels.
“A Part of It” in particular is rather unnerving in how it starts out with guitar strums that invoke nostalgia before descending into a rather violent cacophony of noise and echoing vocals.
“Moral Compass” invokes imagery of bloodshed with its equally troubled vocals lost in shrieking guitars and unsettling bass.
Yet at the same time, neither of these songs become particularly grating. The unsettling sounds, when combined, somehow manage to create a bizarre harmony. Underneath the noise, there seems to be a coherent melody playing through that is still noticeable.
This case could be made for a majority of the songs. Many of them reflect an uncertain state of mind in the instrumentation and perhaps even in the lack of volume in many of the vocals. Even with the problems in the vocals, they move with the rhythm of the instruments so well that they don’t feel like a distraction.
The album could have easily reached a conclusion with “Peace of Mind.” Notably, it is the only song in the album that lacks vocals. In the place of the booming electrical guitars is a rather slow and peaceful acoustic guitar piece. There’s a feeling of optimism and closure to this song despite the lack of lyrics.
However, what could have been a nice conclusion is somewhat squandered by the follow-up. Neither “Disconnecting” nor “Ricochet” are bad by any means, but they feel rather out of place after the previous song.
Both invoke a feeling of delving into dark depths with their heavy percussion and quiet guitar riffs. Tonally, the two are similar enough to almost be considered the same song.
Instead of ending with a light acoustic guitar strum, the album concludes with a series of unsettling drum beats that fade into the background. Still, We Were Promised Jetpacks’ fourth album is soft but powerful, and it is absolutely worth a listen.
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