A Silver Mount Zion has changed so much over the span of their four albums and one EP, that fans eventually gave up on trying to remember what the band is calling themselves nowadays. They have gone from
A Silver Mount Zion, to
The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, to
The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Choir, to
Thee Silver Mountain Reveries and then finally back to
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band…
Tired yet?
Not me. The constant name-changing isn’t meant to ward off potential listeners, it’s meant to convey the present state of the band (and perhaps just to piss off music journalists).
A side-project at the time,
A Silver Mt. Zion was comprised of three members: Efrim, Thierry and Sophie. And their instrumental capacity ranged from stand-up bass, piano, samples, violin & more. With their first album, ASMZ express themselves through incredibly sorrowful pieces. This is one of the most beautifully depressing albums I’ve ever heard. Using post-rock as a base structure for most of their songs, ASMZ depart slighty from the basic notions of post rock when Efrim sings in
Movie (Never Made). He sings haunting lyrics over disjointed piano and stand-up bass:
”The towers had fallen / And the wind calls out my grandfather’s name, an eerie and coincidental parallel to 9/11, Efrim expresses his vision of the future:
Let our crowds be fed on tear gas and plate glass / ‘Cause the people united is a wonderful thing.
13 Angels Standing Guard Round The Side Of Your Bed and
For Wanda are similar in structure, where a piano or noise begins and is built upon by violin or some phantasmal noise. Reportedly,
For Wanda was written about Efrim’s dog, Wanda, who died while GY!BE was on tour.
The tracks are, on average, about six minutes long; the longest track however,
Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's Mercied Hole, (and several other tracks), is (are) evidence of ASMZ’s dabbling in some kind of chamber rock, or chamber music in general… sad, slow, hopelessly desolate-sounding. A slow bassline leads into a piano and some strange effects, and then into violins rocking back and forth, signaling the feeling of a slow death march. Near the end, the piano becomes frantic, rushing around blindly until the instruments collapse to a slow, rhythmic end.
At the beginning of the album is
Broken Chords Can Sing A Little, where an agonizingly slow piano part is played. It playes until an unfulfilled climax is reached and then falls into the background. As dual samples of men babbling prophetic rhetoric about the end of the world, violins wrap around each other and the piano. The result is a genuine creepiness that sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album.
At the end of this record, in
For Wanda, is the only glimpse of hope: a quiet electric organ/synth sounds off into silence.
Pros: Amazing music to read to; music that perfectly represents a mood (even if that mood is hopelessness); and a must-listen for fans of post rock or neo-classical.
Cons: Like with all other post rock albums, the length of some tracks can turn some people off; this album can easily rain on anyone’s parade if they’re not prepared for it’s overall mood, tone, and message.
Stand-out Tracks:
Broken Chords Can Sing A Little
Movie (Never Made)
13 Angels Standing Guard Round The Side Of Your Bed
Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning
