Tracklist:

1. The Greater Times
2. To The East
3. After The Call
4. Tram 21
5. In Berlin
6. At Sea
7. Between The Wolf And The Dog
8. Saturday
9. Five
10. Cut And Run
11. The Lighthouse

The main strength of Electrelane’s The Power Out was its effortless transition between the effortless bop of tracks which resemble Mars Audiac Quintet – era Stereolab, and those which are slow-burners with a jazz tinge here and there. No Shouts, No Calls takes this one step further, managing to bring both of those styles to individual songs without sounding like a cluttered mess.

Beginning with a song anchored by a strong marching band drum line and pulsating bass, Verity Susman’s completely uninhibited vocals are as strong as ever on No Shouts, No Calls, and as “The Greater Times” reaches its eventual peak, so do the vocals, which convey excellent lyrics throughout the track. Then almost without a stop or so much as a change in pace is the second track, which could very well be a continuation of the first, this time with considerably less hopeful lyrics on love, life and the tenuous existence of each.

While Electrelane have already proven to be an eclectic band, this album furthers that as a Krautrock influence can be heard on a number of tracks, particularly the rather spacey “Tram 21”. Not one to stay in the same sound for long, the eerie call and response style and multi-layered vocals of “In Berlin” reflects the more ghostly His Name Is Alive tracks, and the all encompassing instrumentation does as well.

Waiting three years since their last LP seems to have worked to the band’s credit, as the second half of the album doesn’t lag, and none of the songs seem unfinished or put in to simply stretch the album’s length. Tracks like “Saturday” are not necessarily anything new or exploratory for the band, yet it remains as one of the best exercises of the band’s pulsating keys/bass/drums style. Even the instrumental track “Five” is an excellent rocker that never lets up and would even make fans of Oneida happy.

Although Power Out got pretty good reviews from all the major critics, it was rather slept-on, considering that its strongest quality is longevity, something many albums lack and many critics neglect. Putting that album on always results in a new favorite moment, whether in the catchy bouncy music or Susman’s creative vocal digressions. No Shouts, No Calls follows as an impressive follow-up for a band that is sure to start getting more credit thrown its way.

MP3:
After the Call
Cut and Run

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 11:00 am and is filed under Record Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.