Manning the Sonic Barricades

Thisquietarmy
Langue Hybride
(A Thousand Arms/Consouling Sounds)

Thisquietarmy (all one word)  are experimental composer Eric Quach from Montreal, Canada, whose drone-based music project has been going since 2005.  A mix of jazzy improv, distorted guitar tones, pounding drums and sonic ambuscades, at times it is reminiscent of Swans without Gira's vision, but there is a heavy Prog Rock presence here too.  It is musically sophisticated and knowingly clever in a way I personally find a little unsettling, as I have never been that sort of musician, but muso types will no doubt like it for that very reason. Langue Hybride certainly contains an  impressively wide selection of dynamic soundscapes, combining ambient/electronic, drone/noise, shoegaze/industrial, post-punk/krautrock, and  black/doom metal.  Out of the five pieces presented on the album, two clock in at over 15 minutes + apiece.  That leaves plenty enough time to weave about all over the place in true Prog fashion.  It can be a bit exhausting if I am honest and reminds me more than a little of the concept albums of the early 70's (War of The Worlds and suchlike).  That Quach is a highly accomplished musician and composer there is no doubt, though. With over 40 different releases on a multitude of different record labels and hundreds of performances across the globe, he is nothing if not prolific either.  Mind you,  I am saying that about just about everyone these days where constant 'product' is demanded if you are to retain online interest for even the most fleeting of moments.

His live performances, often presented as an improvised real-time score to his own hypnotic and ethereal visuals, can be doom laden with heavy guitars one moment, or quiet and introspective the next. His is the sort of skill that other artists like Steven Wilson often team up with and the epic closing track 'Solastalgie Impalpable' is akin to Radiohead's most indulgent moments and is breathtakingly impressive in its scope. After listening to Langue Hybride at volume from start to finish, you certainly feel like you have been on a journey and live I can imagine it is quite an experience.  If I had to offer a criticism I would say that, in  common with many of these everything-but-the-kitchen sink virtuoso performances, it just doesn't know when to stop.  That makes it feel more like an extended jam session than an album.  It really needs editing down in places to make it more immediate, and those 15 minute tracks could be half that length and I feel would be better for it, but nonetheless, Langue Hybride is a mightily impressive work to behold.

Main image by Shankrasonic