'Maps of Rebellion'
The new release from five-piece Klay sparks some energy driven, miscellaneous and thoughtful songs.
This seems to be an album focused on entertaining a listener not with some tremendous vocal capability or cleverly written lyrics but music composed artistically and with diversity. There are some very punchy elements, hand through the wall, knuckles bleeding, in agony sort of moments. As the opener ‘Victory is a Fish’ kicks in, it is quite daunting how scarily heavy the song can be with lots of various strings pounding out, all crashing together in one melody.
Because of this start, I expected something much heavier to continue through the remainder of the release. Can’t say I was disappointed with the rest of the tracks as I think my ears and mind prefer this style of music in which Klay float around the heavier elements, while also presenting some reassuring, tender moments. Not tender as in ballads balling out romance and emotion, but subtler styled rock. This is more apparent on ‘Construct Your Own’, but usually floats between the harder areas. Take ‘You Know I Don’t Speak Spanish’ for example, which is able to flutter between the gentle striking of keys and a kick drum to much deeper rhythms.
The songs are very diverse, not just between one and other, but within one song the sound can change a great deal. Sometimes this can occur within a few seconds or on a song like ‘You Fight Great But I'm a Great Fighter’ it can be a gradual build up of instrumentals ranging from a few guitar pings to a complete clatter of sounds. There are even times where it may feel like a song is sliced in two, having a complete 180 twist mid way only to return to its original form.
If it is an album exploring sounds and what can be achieved through the mentality of a few creativity musicians then ‘Maps of Rebellion’ will be an intriguing listen.