I was somewhat surprised to learn that
this slow-moving (but sporadically urgent) post-rock-cum-slowcore
act has no relationship to Chicago's L'Altra, as the two
share a rather striking likeness of sound. Perhaps I shouldn't be so
surprised; any fly-by-night mopey outfit can slide chiming guitar
churns, cello drones, piano notes, and vacant-eyed vox into
expansive song structures (especially gargantuan �Descension�). But
few execute their tropes with as much, um, success, as these folks.
Sure, the formula is a perilous one � put simply, the combo is a
cut-and-dry recipe for severe tedium � but this able septet (along
with their Chicagoan doppelgangers) manage to stay on the sweeter
side of the absolute sopor which the bulk of slowcore tends to
elicit.
So I will concede that a fair
proportion of Carta's instrumental diversions fall into that
unfortunate friend-zone of comfortable familiarity � in other words,
background/bedtime music. Be forewarned: You've heard all the
elements of �Prettier at Night� and �Who Killed the Clerk� before,
on records by Windsor for the Derby, Explosions in the Sky,
Labradford, and, yes, L'altra. Even the satisfying
breakthrough on �The Likeness is Undeniable� lacks raucous
propulsion due to its obeyance of post-rock protocol. Which isn't to
say I don't enjoy the tracks; hell, the juicy chords on �Sidereal�
prove a tasty climax
time and time again. But if we're going to be scientific about it,
we'll have to concede that Carta can be a tad, harumph, derivative.
But then there's the occasional song
songs � you know, the ones with words in 'em � and here's where
Carta strikes with most potency. The aforementioned �Descension,� an
unmitigated epic at just over eleven minutes, is a powerful if
somewhat superlative adventure that could be regarded as this
record's finest achievement; it pulls out all the stops, at least.
Shifting �Building Bridges,� meanwhile, brandishes a supreme, dark
melody which renders it the most immediately memorable track on
here. Elsewhere, �Back to Nature� is an odd Slint/Sonic
Youth nod, which somehow isn't as out of place as one might
presume.
Anyhow, I'm not fond
of conclusions. If you like post-rock, slowcore, wallowing around
but periodically rocking out, Aesthetic Records, the Latin word for
"paper," and/or generally agreeable music, you're likely to find
something to smile about on An Index of Birds. That should
just about cover it.
