Cavalier Song – Blezard

Where to even begin with Blezard? It’s a unique collection of guitar-led sonic explorations. You’d hesitate to label it noise- or post-rock, but terms like ‘abstract’ and ‘experimental’ seem insufficient. At times impressionistic, others simply allusive, it saves its sole moment of direct, rock-‘em-sock-‘em heroics for the coda of Stones For Throwing, which teases at industrial riffage and then clanks the fucker ‘til it bursts. Elsewhere we find Cavalier Song wandering inquisitively over softer terrain before galloping through undulating, discordant passages, with their giddy glee at each new discovery audible at every turn.

There’s no dominant mode here; opener Anode wields pensive, Yo La Tengo-esque sweeps of cracked psych-jangle while 10-minute closer Trees is more expansive and complex, begging to be absorbed through repeat plays rather than half-chewed and swiftly swallowed. Blezard is a triumph of imagination – a wide-eyed stare at the skies, in love with sound and possibility. [Will Fitzpatrick]