Isis - Wavering Radiant
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Since 2002’s Oceanic, Isis have basically written one song. It’s not a song so much as a template, a theme with variations. These include clean and dirty vocals and guitars, and myriad paths to the top of Isis Hill, the peak of each track. Over time, Isis have softened, trading riffs for textures. This has lost and gained them fans. Some prefer the band’s early rawness. Others like the kindler, gentler Isis. Neither group is wrong. Isis have simply changed objectives.
The ideal Isis track is long and patient, yet dynamic. Although Isis songs have mostly sounded the same since Oceanic, they have had various architectures yielding various results. The band’s biggest Achilles heel since then has been the riff. When Isis step on their distortion pedals, octaves, minor thirds, and other standard fare ensue. Over time, these peaks have diminished as their novelty has worn off. Wavering Radiant still has “boom” moments, but busy, gauzy production smoothes them out. Producer Joe Barresi seemingly hates snare drums. Here, they are mere thuds; this is the third recent metal album, after Enslaved’s Vertebrae and Satyricon’s The Age of Nero, that he’s hobbled with dull sound. Contrast it, for example, with the haunting nudity of 2004’s Panopticon.
But, again, objectives have changed. Now Isis are almost in the realm of pure texture. Wavering Radiant is to Isis what Disintegration was to The Cure – a keyboard-soaked, reverb-drenched set of textures. (Isis are also fond of The Cure’s watery clean tones.) Its overproduction fits the music. It is detailed and subtle, an audio Jenga puzzle. Out comes a guitar line; in comes a bass line. Each moment counts, almost to a fault. The songs still have simplistic overall tonalities, but they now have more tonal variations within them. They’re fleeting – a non-diatonic note here, a modulation there – but they help maintain interest. Aaron Turner’s vocals help in this regard. He’s more comfortable with singing than before, and he uses it to carry songs to peaks. Before, riffs sweated to push songs up Isis Hill. Now, Turner hits those target notes. It’s a small change, but forward progress in Isis’ game of inches.
Buy:
eMusic (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
Isis webstore
The End (CD, LP)
