A Word Is also a Picture of a

Their basic sound is drums, bass, jangly guitar, faraway-sounding vocals, minor keys. They’ve apparently been labeled “math rock” on occasion—slightly electronic sounding, with lots of meter changes. Occasional cello, piano, acoustic guitar. Kind of like ambient noise on the surface; the notes don’t vary much, both within songs and in the album overall. What does vary is the subtle texture of the tempos, meters, and instrumentation. Lyrics are studiously written, and not featured as often as the instrumentals.

1. Preface: 40 sec. longstarts out w/ high brittle piano; gradually gets electronically distorted; segues into 2.
2. Tower of the Middle of the Month: Whiny guitar
3. E for Alpha: Uptempo, even, repetitive
4. Buy High Sell Low: Yelling vocals throughout, but switches moods between urgent drums/electric guitar, and waltz tempo with cello and acoustic guitar.
* 5. Breathe to Please Them: Slow, sparse, all the instruments sound individual. Starts out with lonely guitar; over-loud slow drum beat
* 6. Flight of the Moron: Short (1:16) instrumental; fast but hushed; acoustic guitar solo.
-FCC! 7. Frozen Found Fire: Medium-fast tempo, with frantic druming and long electric guitar solo, switches mood in middle, adding piano.
8. Myopic Fights: Starts right in with loud vocals; angry strumming guitar.
* 9. Pity Has No Power: Instrumental; starts slow, speeds up, train-like; brittle electronic sounds back and forth with angry guitar; a varied track.
-FCC! 10. Era of Artillery: Prelude of slow electric guitar; then settles into midtempo groove. (Just 1 FCC warning spot.)
11. Surface Learning: Fades in; slow, halting tempo with just guitar and drums. Faint high vocal harmony. Trumpet featured. Has a weird false ending; then switches to quiet slow droning under dot-matrix-printer-like sounds.