Huntsville — For Flowers, Cars And Merry Wars
For Flowers, Cars and Merry War on first listen definitely sounds like a lot of bands without directly copying anyone; seemingly familiar but new at the same time. I hear a bit of late-Seventies industrial, along with hints of Chrome, This Heat and Dome…..with perhaps a smidgen of post-rock ambience. Faint glimmers of contemporary mood music in the guise of an Eluvium or Navel wispiness, to just about anything from the mellower side of the post-shoegaze crowd wanders through the album’s sound field; making each and every listen an actual journey. But it is the improvisatory nature of the music, when combined with all those influences that makes the album special. Improvisation subtly undercuts post-rock’s predictability and periodicity, letting space become the primary determinant of form. And I am sure some wag somewhere has mentioned the ‘K-word’ (*rautroc*) when describing For Flowers, Cars and Merry War, which is just plain silly. Huntsville’s mood is a more modern one of distant melancholic abstraction rather than hippy or rock-ist angst. De-emphasizing percussion distances the music from rock’s heavier rhythmic permutations in favor of mood and space as well. This separation from ‘rock’ is further emphasized with the ethereal voicing of Hanne Hukkelberg on the wonderful title track. So definitely a late-Seventies post-punk/industrial vibe if anything, but without the claustrophobic atmosphere and production…..which is where that more post-rock feeling comes in, for me.
The album as a whole is quite enjoyable with an almost soundtrack quality to the proceedings with its slowly morphing, sprawling drone-fields. Very contemporary AND very, very good.