Japan has proven to be the most fruitful Asian country in most things, such as GDP, and now post-rock. So, it is no surprise that another band emerges from the Land of the Rising Sun, packing the slow, brooding, epic sounds reminiscent of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. Following in the footsteps of Mono, Tokyo four-piece Ovum shape their debut, yet-to-be-released EP, Nostalgia, Melancholia, Psychedelia, predominately out of guitar-driven soundscapes. Much like their fellow countryfolk, as well as Explosions and the earlier works of Mogwai, Ovum approaches the post-rock sound eschewing the popularity of the strings and sticking mostly to the guitar-bass-drums instrumentation. Its pieces, while executed with not quite as much flair or aggression as Mono, nonetheless display some very familiar aesthetic characteristics in its compositions.
A loudening stretch of ambience at the beginning of "Like a Hymn" opens the record in a fairly ordinary, monotonous fashion. The sound is progressively layered until it is dense enough to erupt, which isn't necessarily bad, but I can't help wonder if it was necessary to carry on for such a lengthy amount of time. I'm all for patience in building up to a satisfying climax, but in this case the payoff feels weak. I am reminded of a similar piece where The Exploits of Elaine achieve the same effect in about a fraction of the time.
"Astral" is a piece that builds itself with a very common post-rock device, the distant, epic guitar strumming that conjures vast, space-like imagery, and it climaxes nicely much in the same manner, apart from a slightly upbeat anomaly thrown rather randomly into the mix midway through the track. The highlight of the EP is in fact a demo, entitled "Fantastic Madness". It has an indie pop, borderline pirate-ish feel that's oddly refreshing and distinct amongst such a serious set of instrumental pieces. Ovum demonstrates it can hold onto a strong, emotive melody without having to pad it with generically satisfying sounds, overused structures, or lazy slowcore-esque dynamics and drumming. That's not to say Ovum doesn't flirt with some of these sounds, just that they doesn't dwell on them; the band fiddles with each and just before it gets excessive, it timely erupts into something else.
Nostalgia, Melancholia, Psychedelia is just a bit too familiar for Ovum to really stand out. Even though I appreciate the band's appreciation for a sound that, despite the number of reiterations, is admittedly solid the way it is, I still can't help but fault the band for remaining too faithful to its formulaic consequences. The ever-so-familiar sounding melodies and epic guitar strumming make this debut effort a somewhat bland affair. But despite the lack of glow on this particular record, I'm not completely ruling out that there is potential here. Let's hope they impress on the next record.
-Mac Nguyen