(2019) Oddarrang - Hypermetros


Review:
With its fifth album, Oddarrang invites comparison to Sigur Ros and Hammock, even if the latter outfits demonstrate in their productions a greater affinity for epic builds than the Finnish quintet. Led by drummer Olavi Louhivuori, Oddarrang’s been operating for over fifteen years and counts guitarist Lasse Sakara, trombonist Ilmari Pohjola, cellist Osmo Ikonen, and bassist Lasse Lindgren as its other members; enhancing their music’s textural side, four also contribute synthesizers to the release. Much of the material on Hypermetros (a Greek word meaning ‘beyond measure’) was composed by Louhivuori, the exceptions “Ohlop” credited to Ikonen and the three-part centerpiece Trichordon to Lindgren. Similar to its aforementioned counterparts, Oddarrang traffics in a highly emotive and dramatic brand of atmospheric post-rock, its pieces often uplifting in tone and atmospheric in design. Louhivuori and company smartly sequenced the album, with the decision to ease the listener into it via the delicate “Amber” a wise move. Delivered at a stately pace, the opener gives the members extended moments to showcase their talents, though never gratuitously so. After Sakara’s resonant patterns establish a serene tone, Pohjola adds to it with a hushed solo, after which the music broadens out with additional instruments, its methodical build carefully calibrated to maximize swoon. Arriving immediately after, “Ohlop” captures a harder side of the band, especially when it dials up the intensity during the driving track’s second half with a rousing, tremolo-laden guitar solo. The ten-minute triptych Trichordon begins with “Hypermetros,” a stately scene-setter of beats-free chords and percussive rustlings that’s followed by “Klimakos,” which, consistent with its ladder- or stairs-related meaning, ascends ever so subtly with church organ dominant. After those largely meditative episodes, “Pandura” reintroduces Oddarrang’s full-band voice to conclude the centerpiece on a grandiose note. Only with “15 Years” does the quintet rise to the kind of majestic dynamism at which Hammock excels, the piece a classic slow-builder that gradually swells in grandeur, its rise kickstarted midway through by a grime-encrusted, Zeppelin-esque riff. Such heaviness isn’t unwelcome, and in truth Hypermetros, as good as it is, could have done with a bit more of it. One of the more appealing things about Oddarrang is its range of instrumental colour. It’s not unusual for guitar and cello to be part of a post-rock lineup, but the presence of trombone adds a distinctive element. Furthermore, the contrast the group’s able to exploit using cello, guitar, and trombone as front-line instruments adds significantly to the band’s sound. More than anything else, however, it’s the quality of the writing that recommends Hypermetros. With each piece exemplifying a high level of refinement and craft, the album makes it easy to disregard the last rites some critics and listeners perform on the post-rock genre.





Tracklist:



Media Report:
Genre: ambient, jazz, post-rock
Source: CD
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits