I am glad I got this CD to review. At first listen, I was not much into it; but after another few listens, it is a lot fresher and less derivative than I originally believed.
Originally, I was thinking, “Great, another generic indie rock album that homogenizes the best parts of Modest Mouse, The Wipers, and At the Drive-In.”
This does in small bits, using a twin guitar attack, with one playing the rhythm using those indie rock upside-down power chords, or octave chords, and the other playing some weird spindly melody line. Throw in a good bit of noisy feedback, some questioning of religious beliefs, shouting, and good solid backbeat drumming and bass, and you got The Narrator.
The song “The Party’s Over” sounds a bit like Satanic Versus era Milemarker, only less dramatic. Such Triumph is 12 songs in about 45 minutes – the songs don’t tend to get stuck in themselves to the point of rendering boredom, but the album could have been a few songs shorter, ‘cause at the end, I was wanting it to end. But I will keep it and make all of my friends listen to it.
– Bill Barry
The Narrator (Flameshovel)