A Closer Listen
Some bands change intentionally, while others have change thrust upon them. Over the course of the past ten years, this Belgian band first changed its sound subtly, then dramatically. Witness the evolution of Endless Dive.
The story begins with the self-titled 2015 EP, a pure post-rock affair whose cover – an image of a diving whale – is a perfect match to the band’s name. 2015 was a good year for post-rock, with Constellation dominating our year-end charts. The new quartet embraced the template of loud-quiet-loud, with a noticeable use of stereo effects. At only 24 minutes long, it made a solid impression, anchored by the ever-building “Atoms” (more accurately “89mmHg / Atoms,” as the tracks blend together) and the 8:31 “Gravity Always Wins” (which for similar reasons might be “Heavy Clouds/Gravity Always Wins”. The transition between the two is a stop-and-start that erupts into math rock and metal before returning to post-rock. The breakdown just past the five-minute mark is particularly effective. While no unique timbre distinguishes the EP from its siblings, it’s an accomplished debut.
Four years later, after some studio and road experience, the band has begun to experiment. Falltime (strangely a January release) starts with electronic timbres, a new addition. The whale has been replaced by a massive wolf, a tiny human falling in the background. Following the template of the EP, a brief intro erupts into a longer track, this time with a crash of drums and a melodic vibe. “Wading Pool” is already an improvement on the debut, confident and upbeat. Some of its siblings that year: Old Solar, The Pirate Ship Quintet, Wander, We Lost the Sea. We’re sad that we didn’t know about it then, because we’d love to see how it would have fared in competition. The energetic drumming of the 8:17 “Misadventures” is an early highlight; electronic drums are used in the beginning of “Outgrown (Part I)”, a sign of things to come. But the single word expulsion (“Hey!”) in “Part II”, awash in brass timbres, is the album’s signature moment. Already, after a single album, the quartet is on top of its game.
Four more years would pass before the release of A Brief History of a Kind Human, including the COVID years, which disrupted their studio plans and ended their tour. Already in the opening seconds, one can tell something has changed; expanding on the opening of “Outgrown (Part I)”, the band has added electronic drums and synth, resulting in a blended electronic / post-rock sound. The regular drummer will make an appearance soon. Metal returns in “La Ciguë,” along with distortion; the title references a poisonous plant. By the ironically titled “Elevator to Silence,” the band introduces swelling post-rock cacophony, one of its finest moments to date. “Tropique Triste” ends in an all-out jam. The album is more danceable than its predecessors, while still containing breakdowns and reflective passages, in particular “The Red Poet”. As the pandemic ended, the future looked bright for Endless Dive. But soon all that would change.
Between the release of A Brief History of a Kind Human and Souvenances, two of the band members left, making Endless Dive a duo. How would they respond? The remaining members already had a history of change; they needed only to pivot again. The earlier experimentation with electronics was key, and Souvenances, while still technically post-rock, is also a very different creature, as one might expect, seeing the child on the cover. Children are all over this release, from the choice of blue or pink vinyl (the blue selling much faster, we hope because it’s the world’s favorite color) to the actual children heard throughout the album. The album begins and ends with the click of a cassette player, and is laden with nostalgia, from tape wobble to playground noise. Souvenance means remembrance.
“Les ans qui passant” (“The years that pass”) starts the set with acoustic guitar, an unexpected development. Electronic textures sparkle in “Petit bain.” “Rouge feu” bubbles like a day-glo Atari score. The album represents a sea change from the original EP, and still a massive jump from the last, but retains its upbeat tone and sense of wonder. The music is warm, family and community-oriented, the loss of two members balanced by the inclusion of a variety of spoken voices. “La petite danseuse” offers a bridge back to earlier post-rock efforts, awash in guitar and shimmer.
What’s next for Endless Dive? We would not have mentioned all of the prior recordings if not for the fact that the duo will tour as a quartet, so earlier songs can be heard in similar incarnations. While the band is in flux, they have shown a remarkable capacity for adaptation. The next album may be more electronic, or pivot back to post-rock, or head in yet another direction, but with this shift, Endless Dive have shown us that they are worth following, no matter where their journey may lead. (Richard Allen)
Fri Feb 21 00:01:48 GMT 2025