(written by Islander)
Just two days ago we hosted the premiere of an instrumental metal song by Utah-based Osmium Gate. We concluded the introduction by proclaiming, “It really is one of those songs that’s so emotionally evocative, so viscerally soul-stirring in its impact, that vocals are unnecessary, and indeed would have risked distraction from all the other marvels had they been present.” Coincidentally, we’re now premiering another instrumental metal song, this time from the other side of our continent, and the same impression holds for this one: You won’t miss the vocals at all.
What we have for you today is the title song for A Flashing on Plain Glass, the intriguingly named forthcoming third album from the Boston-based instrumental post-metal trio Lesotho.
The new album delivers five songs across thirty minutes of time. Lesotho have explained what inspired them and what they sought to achieve through the music:
In a place we are increasingly finding it difficult to call our own, A Flashing On Plain Glass was created as a piece of solid ground for us to stand on. These five tracks symbolize a world of inevitable change and the search to find an honest beauty among chaos.
Each of the songs is captivating, and so wholly immersive that it’s very easy to lose yourself in them and to be transported by the music. As they traverse a wide range of sounds and emotions, they provide richly multi-textured and powerfully mood-altering and imagination-inspiring experiences. The song we’re about to premiere, “A Flashing on Plain Glass“, is a prime example of these qualities.
One way to think about this song’s progression is as a gradual climb up a hill so imposing that the weather changes as the ascent proceeds, and then as a flight through the air back to the starting point — or some other place equally beautiful.
But there are other ways to think about the song — as a progression of changing emotions, or as the “painting” of a wholly absorbing soundscape (because Lesotho have at their disposal an extensive palette of contrasting and complementary musical colors and use them quite masterfully).
Lesotho begin their musical ascent by casting a gentle and relatively simple musical spell and then gradually adding more and more ingredients until you find yourself in a dramatically different place. A clean guitar slowly rings a somber melody against a backdrop of ethereally shimmering tones, joined by ringing piano keys. The melancholy melody thus established becomes the basis for further variations as the song unfolds.
To that foundation Lesotho add enormously booming and sharply cracking beats and further guitar layers, including mandolin-like tremors, that cause the music to brightly glisten and to yearn. As the drums grow more animated, Lesotho also turn the music in a darker direction with swaths of fretwork abrasion and heavy bass undulations. The melody still valiantly rings through, but the music swells toward imposing heights.
The drumming continues to seize attention, but is matched by the vividness of the varying guitar textures, which channel striving and resilience — until the summit is reached, and the song drifts away through ringing and whispering notes toward a place of beauty and wonder.
LESOTHO is:
Kyle Loffredo – Guitars
Cliff Cazeau – Bass
Dan DeLucia – Drums
A Flashing On Plain Glass was engineered and mixed by Alex Allinson at The Bridge Sound and Stage (Cambridge, MA), and it was mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering. The album features cover art by by Thibault Landemaine of the Jack Hillside Collective (Bordeaux, France).
Lesotho will release the record on March 13th, on vinyl LP, CD, and digital formats, with apparel. Find more info and pre-orders via the links below, and also check out the album’s first single, “Fetch Quest“.
PRE-SAVE:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lesotho/a-flashing-on-plain-glass-3
PRE-ORDER:
https://lesotho.bandcamp.com/album/a-flashing-on-plain-glass
LESOTHO:
https://linktr.ee/lesothoboston
https://lesotho.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/lesothoboston
https://www.instagram.com/lesothoboston