Solkyri - Cranebrook

A Closer Listen

The trajectory of Australian band Solkyri has been fascinating to follow.  Debuting in 2011 with the EP No House, the post-rock quartet demonstrated a penchant for mixing generous amounts of strings, brass and glockenspiel into their post-rock, a welcome trend we noted in our review of 2013’s Are You My Brother?  These elements were still present, although receding, on Sad Boys Club, a happy album, belying its title.  On Mount Pleasant, the quartet became purely and powerfully post-rock, although something seemed to have been lost.  On Cranebrook, that something is restored.

The band writes, “We made something different. It’s slow, at times it’s really slow … a shift in intensity, or as we like to call it, a “side-step.”  One might also call this the completion of an arc.  Solkyri has always had a pensive side (check for example the flute-dominant first half of “Strangers,” from No House), but here it is brought to the fore.  One might even make the argument that Cranebrook is more modern composition than post-rock, but either designation would be apt.

The suitably-named “Wherever We End Up Next” begins by highlighting the string quartet, arranged by Monique Turner; and then the piano.  By the time the post-rock guitars and drums enter the fray, a lovely lattice has been created.  Vibraphone, glockenspiel and acoustic guitar tiptoe into the break, creating a sweet and slightly melancholic sound.  This is not what we expected after Mount Pleasant, but it’s a wonderful course correction, the band once again playing to its strength: a diversity of timbre rare in the post-rock world.  One thing that has not changed is a penchant for magnificent splatter-died vinyl.  The electric blue and yellow edition, pictured right, seems to reference the Ukrainian flag; if so, it’s a wonderful and subtle tribute just when it is needed most.

“I Guess I’ll Be Leaving Now” starts as a soothing drone – another new turn for the band – but as the drone is punctured by stars of glockenspiel, the timbre shifts.  The transition to acoustic guitar and cello happens so smoothly that one barely notices, but by the finale, the track has become an entirely different animal.  It’s not until the brief “1804” that the drums come out to play; the title may or may not be a reference to the Castle Hill convict rebellion.  By “You Coward! (Shambles II,” a family is setting the table, lounging and laughing, comfortable in their own skin.  The original “Shambles,” a raucous rendition with soaring strings, appears on Mount Pleasant. We hope that Solkyri will consider playing the pieces back-to-back in concert, building from the second part to the first, creating an extended 12-minute piece.  This would be a way to combine the old and the new, exploring the band’s full range of dynamic contrast.  Or one might make the ending of “II” a coda; at 5:47, the second part yields an instrumental “Amen.”

As “Where the Quiet Can Hide” winds to a peaceful conclusion, one realizes that Soklyri has done something remarkable: not a reinvention, but a recalibration.  The cover suggests demolition and reconstruction, the band’s brand-new studio a symbol of their new incarnation.  To reference the opening track, wherever they end up next, we’ll be sure to follow.  (Richard Allen)