If you’re a regular at ArcTanGent festival, if you like post-metal but are looking for something a bit extra, or if you’re someone who simply enjoys really well-made, good fucking music, then the new Matador album Above, Below and So is certainly for you. If you’re none of those things, it’s probably still worth giving it a spin. Signed to Church Road Records, a UK independent label that only seems to deal in the very best, this is their second album as a fully formed three-piece and one that finds them at the start of what will surely be an upward trajectory.
Post-metal can sometimes feel like a genre where everything just rolls into one long mess with nothing to distinguish one song from another—sometimes even one album from another – and this can lead to a bit of fatigue as a listener. Matador seem aware of this and have managed to avoid meandering off a post-metal cliff. With Above, Below and So, they have produced an album that pushes their own creative boundaries and the expectations of what the genre has to offer. Yes, this is a loud album, and it’s a heavy album, but in amongst all that, there are elements that set it apart: a twist of psychedelia, something atmospheric, a bit of low-down sludge, and a dose of doom. There’s also a song that’s under three minutes, which is practically unheard of round post-metal parts! Don’t worry though; there’s also one that’s over ten minutes.
When an album only has six songs, there’s no room for passengers. Every track has to pull its weight, and here, they all do. The two singles that have already been released, “The House Always Wins” and “Glitter Skin”, are an opening one-two punch that both operate by luring you in with melodic and hypnotic build-ups, only to let it all come crashing down in an intricately woven psychedelic, sludgy wall-of-sound.
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“The Flood” offers something different – imagine a doom or even a drone song, but instead of one note being held for an age, it’s played at a normal pace. Towards the end of the song, there’s a lyrical section that offers a nice contrast to the dark tones, adding a bit of light to the whole thing. It is a real high point on an album that isn’t heavy on the lyrical word count; when there are lyrics, they really add punctuation and depth. Vocalist James Kirk has a great range that seems to be able to turn whichever way the music needs, from clean melodic passages to a sludgy roar.
The second half of the album starts with a palette cleanser of sorts in the form of “O Suna”, the shortest track on the album at only 2 minutes 31 seconds. It’s an instrumental piece that burns out slowly as the tempo drags slower and slower, increasing the tension before fading to noise. Tension is a recurring theme on the album, existing in the delicate instrumentation leading into the brutal, from the lyrics about love banishing dark playing over the heaviest riffs, to the shortest song coming right before the longest, most intricate song. I doubt it’s a coincidence, and it all adds to the layers of the album.
“A Virus” is the aforementioned longest song, which clocks in at a smidge over 10 minutes and is the real centrepiece of the album. It feels like a collection of motifs from other songs have been brought together in one cinematic epic. There’s the slow-build, the lyricism, the intricate combination of genres, and the breakdowns and false endings, and eventually you’re left in a completely different realm than where you began. The album is brought to a close with the abrasive and confrontational “Hooks”, a song which doesn’t simply fade out to send you on your way. Instead, you’re thrown crashing through the door with some of the heaviest work on the record.
There’s no meandering or wasted motion in Above, Below and So; it steers well clear of the post-metal cliff. While it’s broad in its scope and takes influences from a few different styles and genres, it’s all done with purpose and the understanding that the band are going to take you on a journey that is sonically rewarding. Matador have delivered a real essential listen for post-metal fans and the curious alike. Make sure you’re listening before they inevitably take off.
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Above, Below and So is out on February 27th.
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