spinicist
The final track is the meatiest slow burner I have heard in years. Put it on repeat and enjoy your time on this planet that bit more.
Favorite track: Cop Shoot Cop.
sinceforever
Don't let the larger related projects of MGR members fool you - "We Are One" is a singular piece of work, a thing unto itself and not the cutting room material from other albums. Thoughtful Gira-esque vocals combined with the guitar precision you'd expect from a veteran post-metal star. Come for the Joy Division cover, stay for the gradual and beautiful sonic meltdown of 'cop shoot cop'.
Favorite track: Cop Shoot Cop.
I feel it, its all come down
This day will yield and bend to night's crown
The shadows spread and grow
They reach and pull us low
We're low
We move, beyond our lie
We heave and turn this world, to hold the sky
We unlearn all we know
To feel this night aglow
We're Glowing
Reborn, in shadow
We have come alive
Guided by the crow
In dusk we all grow
I’ve walked for miles
I’ve become undone
I peeled it all away
To arise as the one
Falling in
We are all Becoming
We have slipped
Fallen low
Found each other
Crawled to your throne
We are rising
Beyond all this
There is nothing
Holding us
The elusive musical project Mustard Gas & Roses has always been a bit difficult to pin down. Originally conceived by guitarist Michael Gallagher as an ethereal instrumental counterpoint to the megalithic full-band dirges of his band ISIS, early recordings like Wavering on the Cresting Heft revolved around stark, creeping guitar melodies buoyed by subtle string arrangements and auxiliary guitar squall. Over the span of 15 years, Mustard Gas & Roses (commonly abbreviated as MGR) would slip in and out of dormancy, always resurfacing in some altered incarnation as supplemental musicians entered and exited the picture. MGR’s latest full-length, 2016’s Becoming, captured the nebulous ensemble in an incarnation most closely resembling a full fledged band, with Gallagher’s signature cataclysmic guitar lines bolstered by an authoritative rhythm section and a second guitarist. But the most prominent new factor was Gallagher’s baritone-throated vocals, which brought a new pensive gravity to their muscular arrangements. Four years later, MGR has resurfaced again. And as it was with past hiatuses, the ensemble has emerged transformed, as is evident on their striking new four-song EP We Are One.
MGR was largely quiet in the years following the release of Becoming, with one of their rare live appearances occurring at Portland’s Stumpfest in 2017. With MGR’s creative core reduced to Gallagher and bassist Jay Bennet, the duo recruited guitarist Marc Brandi (Lowcaster) and drummer Patrick Crawford (Nite, Older Sun) for a short run of shows up to the Northwest. In the fleeting preparations for the mini-tour, MGR managed to develop two new songs for the set. “Shadows” taps into the dire slow-burn hymns of pre-hiatus Swans and Angels of Light before blossoming into a kaleidoscope of interwoven guitars and pounding, propulsive rhythms. The other full-band contribution was a scorching cover of Joy Division’s “Exercise One,” which harnesses the original’s gloomy aura but makes the instrumentation far more sonically oppressive. Given the automatic chemistry of the new formation, a few hours of studio time were booked after the Portland date and the two songs were tracked live.
In subsequent years, Gallagher found moments to further push MGR’s sound into new territories. The title track from Becoming was revisited and approached as a somber acoustic track. With a little help from musical compatriot Bryan Tulao (Chelsea Wolfe, Mother Tongue, Black Math Horseman), MGR captured the song in its original genesis, stripped down to its most basic, harrowing components. The biggest sonic risk comes with the EP’s closing track, a ten-minute cover of Spiritualized’s “Cop Shoot Cop.” Recorded by Sanford Parker and rounded out by musical contribution from Bryan Tulao and Sash Popovic (Mother Tongue, Black Math Horseman), the song taps into the original’s bluesy gospel vibe while giving every component an additional sonic and emotional weight, effectively transforming the track into a hypnotic meditation that eventually explodes into a maelstrom of noise.
Taken all together, We Are One captures the latest evolution of Mustard Gas & Roses. Whereas the project was initially an exploration of the symphonic capabilities of the electric guitar, MGR’s current incarnation experiments with more traditional “rock” approaches, yet always finds ways of pushing those sonic attributes to the fringe, with every track serving as an excavation and reassessment of the song’s core essence and urgency.
- Brian Cook
credits
released November 10, 2020
• "Shadows" and "Exercise One"
Mike Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals
Marc Brandi - Guitar
J Bennett - Bass
Patrick Crawford - Drums
Recorded Live By Adam Pike At Toadhouse Recording. Portland, OR / April 2017
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