An Array Of Influences On Sub Rosa Stories Create A Gripping Narrative

Mount Forel seem to be a band happy to walk a different road to the rest of us, relying on the music to do the talking to those who want to listen. They paint a similar picture to bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Heat, Mogwai and Thom Yorke/Radiohead. Following on from their debut offering, last year’s Small Worlds LP, Sub Rosa Stories is the second chapter in their own tale, featuring further experiments in exploring the boundaries of avant-rock structure and composition.

With opening gambit, The Hum, the album slides into focus on a rhythmic groove before exploding into some undeniably impressive riffing which shows thze band’s ability to deliver a result that’s greater than the sum of the parts - a good start for sure! Then the hymnal-like To Hell With You All moves the listener on and into a totally different mood with its ethereal vocals. Track three, The Hound, keeps the mood low as it harks back through Irish mythology, while Secrets Of The World holds the accolade for being the brightest offering on the album with its uplifting melody in the first half, before an abrupt change of gear sees the mood change and polyrhythmic motifs carry it along to its conclusion. Centralia Sceptics Club (great name btw!) is an album highlight with its incredulous story of a never-ending underground fire all set to music which is decidedly edgy, with stupendous Robert Fripp style guitar riffs and an over-arching sense of chaos and abandonment. It finishes far too early for my taste and can only imagine that an extended version in their live shows could be a way of doing the track justice. To close the album, Iceworm is a psychedelic extravaganza that slowly snakes its way through to a giant crescendo of guitars and ambient trumpet that creeps up on you (think Philip Glass meets Miles Davis with the intensity set to eleven).

As an album, Sub Rosa Stories is a challenging but exciting listen and the pensive nature of the lyrical content along with the freedom in the music provides a highly satisfying payoff – a truly alternative album for those who like to dive deep and are inquisitive enough to get involved.

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