Someday soon The Weak Men will need no introduction, but until that time we'll briefly cover the basics: part of a blooming Utah instrumental scene, The Weak men are a sextet specializing in instrumental rock and drawing a large influence from turn of the century post-rock masters, such as Labradford, 1 Mile North, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Dog is the band's second album, fresh off the heels of Deer, and likely the precedent to Dolphin, or maybe Dragon or DINOSAUR! Our imagination runs wild with anticipation...
Revisiting Deer, it does come across as a standard foray into the post-rock realm. While not exactly a cut n' paste affair, The Weak Men didn't leave the listener guessing as to who they'd been taking cues from, and the redundancy of the quiet/loud technique is overdone in a short 30 minute time span. All the more noticeable because when the band ventures away from safe territory ("Then But Now") we begin to see a truly beautiful sound emerging. One which we can dissect and say, "This is The Weak Men." As we depart from Deer, we are hopeful that the band can lock onto this feeling and exploit it to its fullest on the next album; maybe dogs are much more representative of the band's essence than the average deer.
And so it begins. "Pasture" slowly stirs to life, very The Romance of Young Tigers/Mono-esque in its steady awakening. The track opens with an audio sample of cars zooming past a stationary point (likely a pasture on the side of a road...), quickly joined by sweeping guitars and the fragile sounds of a piano. Slowly the sun begins to rise, and with it the drums enter the picture, providing a contrast to the rustling opening sounds. A few respites and rolling tremolos later and a violin suddenly catches sight of this wandering orchestra. The meeting is short lived; as soon as the players begin to gel as one the landscape dissipates into thin air.
"Longing" plays the part of the quiet/loud tribute, clocking in at over twelve minutes and going through all the textbook motions of what defines a post-rock track: the false build-up, followed by the false decline, followed by the rapid ascent and explosion of horror and terror and blistering energy that suffocates all who unfortunately land in its devastating wake. Strangely enough, this track is the one where The Weak Men are most basic, sticking mainly to guitar/drum/bass, and inevitably stuffing the fuzzy distortion down our the listeners throats.
The album's high point is found in "We Fell Asleep." Separated into three tracks (Head/Enemy Soldier/Abdomen), the track moves slowly and purposefully, adopting a style similar to those used so well by Gregor Samsa. However, The Weak Men aren't content to stay quiet the whole time, and the interplay between excessiveness and deliberation is key to the development of the music; it is in this context where the bombastic movements do not overshadow the somber passages -- a very noteworthy observation, since much of the band's appeal lies in the preliminary setup ("Head"). Why go to all the compositional effort of smoothing a violin between guitar and drum if you're not going to capitalize on its presence? In this regard, "Head" is an outstanding display of craftsmanship. "Enemy Soldier" carries the momentum along, careful not to stain the sophisticated canvas which the sextet finds itself working on. The male/female vocal interaction reinforces the previous comparison, and the combination of ambient layers and lunging guitars leaves a distinctive impression of the band's intent. Of course, after two successful movements of compositional excellency, "We Fell Asleep" is bound to end with an earth-shattering exclamation point. "Abdomen" is just that exclamation point, and as the beginning unravels with eerie background noise and the reverbed guitar pickings, it's pretty clear the roller coaster is on an uphill climb. With xylophone and a creepy audio sample of a rambling, indecipherable man, the stage is set. Reversed guitars usher in the final rising action, and the violin makes another appearance as the aforementioned audio samples catch another moment in the spotlight just before the guitarists take control of the track and send it crashing straight into the ground. It feels good, doesn't it?
It would be difficult to top the performance on "We Fell Asleep," at least at this point in time, and The Weak Men are wise to retreat back to the slow burning of its more ambient/experimental side. "We Met/Weak Men DOG" acts as an extended outro, completely flushing the system of the violent passages that preceded it and drawing a much appreciated conclusion where the skies are clear. In effect, we've returned full circle to "Pasture," which begs for a replay. Certainly they've earned it.
The Weak Men have created a rather remarkable album with Dog, which is clearly an improvement over Deer. The amateurish quality which marked the band's previous work has been shrugged off and we're witnessing a band digging deeply into its personal reservoirs to craft a rich, engaging album. A balance between earthy tones and celestial ambitions is not only attempted, but performed with such confidence that it's difficult to believe that The Weak Men haven't been at this for ages. This is one rising star to watch; there's nothing weak about these men (and woman).
-Jordan Volz