Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band: 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

Standing tall amongst slow-burn instrumental groups like Explosions in the Sky, Red Sparowes, and Do Make Say Think, the newest from Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band eschews the repetitive, amorphous soundscapes of their previous releases for more structure and thunder. Averaging fifteen minutes each, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons’ quartet of aural epics demands the same undivided attention as a great novel, lest you miss its braided ebbs and flows that reach exhilarating, apocalyptic heights.

Inaugural track “1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound” begins as expected: Efrim Menuck’s guitars gently plod, while cello and violins bob and weave like pugilists. The song lurches into a vortex of roiling electric guitars, forceful skin hammering (courtesy of new drummer Eric Craven, formerly of Montreal post-rockers Hangedup), and sweeping strings before simmering into choral chants. The album’s swan song, “BlindBlindBlind,” boasts a swirling interplay between seething and swelling, beautiful and bombast. The staggering, paeanlike “Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues” is a call to arms that discards all emotional restraints, asserting that 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons is not content to preach to the Silver Mt. Zion choir. It wants converts.

– Frank Parisi

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band: www.tra-la-la-band.com
Constellation Records: www.cstrecords.com