EP REVIEW: Manchester Orchestra - A Valley of Vision
Atlanta, Georgia's Manchester Orchestra's latest EP "The Valley of Vision” gives the sense of a band relinquishing their former selves. Rather than their usual full on EMO impact the sounds are more fragile and thoughtful. Like an awakening to a new era. Gone are the frantic guitars and pounding drums replaced with something more stripped back, laying them bare offering a deep emotional insight.
This was my first encounter with Manchester Orchestra, normally in this situation I would review as a standalone record but I could tell there was something more, something I was missing so felt compelled to dig deeper and listen to their older material. Everything leading up to this EP has been urgent and pulsating. "The Valley of Vision” is a complete change for the band. There's a sense of loss, bewilderment and disparity. A band coming out of the last few tumultuous years with the weight of the world standing heavy on their shoulders.
The raucous guitars substituted for stunning yet solemn strings, fragmented harrowing vocals and occasional bursts of anguish and pain that can be heard particularly poignantly in EP opener 'Capital Karma'.
'The Way' introduces hypnotic synths with soft soulful vocals building with epic proportions, soaring with grandeur like a release of emotions. 'Quiety' offers a downbeat, defeated sound. Quiet, thoughtful a journey through battling demons and inner torment. It rains in with an understated vibe building into a magical moment of bold noise like a crescendo of feelings, thoughts and feuding strings.
'Letting Go' is like a dark dream, stunning vocals backed by mystical synths, broken drum beats and unnerving strings. There's a sense of significance, the band "letting go" of the past, moving on to a new era. 'Lose You Again' is a beautiful acoustic track, beaming with pure emotion and feelings of loss. The overwhelming urge to always chase highs with no regard for the pain such a self indulgent mindset causes. Everything about 'Lose You Again' is meticulously planned, every element coming together with flawless timing to produce an exquisite sound, it's one of the more simplistic tracks on the EP but the one that had the biggest impact on me by far. Painful, captivating and faultless.
Ending on 'Rear View' there's a gothic feeling, a darkness and yearning to find peace. The expectation of promises you become unable to deliver on. There's simplicity, grandeur and pounding, screaming from the inside.
Manchester Orchestra have produced a harrowing journey that feels like both a nightmare and an awakening. It's torturous and unsettling, it impacts at every moment with feelings of doubt and questioning. It's majestic and beautiful. The workmanship is exceptional. I guarantee once the EP reaches its close you'll be left with a deep sense of longing and confusion. Mixing bold with understated but never waiving from its haunting path. "A Valley of Vision'' is one of the most emotionally impactful records I've encountered.
