Pelican - Forever Becoming

Both the title and the feel of Pelican’s new album Forever Becoming can be interpreted in different ways. I see it in two different ways. The first being that Pelican are "forever becoming" your favorite band with each new album. Though this may be true for some, I think the album title best describes Pelican in the sense of flattery. On each album they bring different elements and attractive ideas to the table. Their sound is forever becoming of them. But by this point in their history, it’s really no surprise. While seeing them live at Maryland Deathfest XII, I could feel the power of their musicianship the connection that they all had with each other.

On Ataraxia/Taraxis, the last album featuring guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, the boys were constantly changing moods and tempo. Songs were upbeat and energetic, quiet and acoustic, and overall atmospheric. They have since recently added guitarist Dallas Thomas and developed a sound that should be vaguely familiar to fans of Pelican. On Forever Becoming, Pelican revert back to their heavy ways. The huge sound on Forever Becoming, though it may not have been expected, works out really well and uniquely fits their sound. As Pelican have evolved, their music has really morphed into something beautiful, and their monumental sound is always changing to stay fresh. Their more post-rocky stuff on What We All Come To Need wasn't bad by any means, but it’s good to see them leaning back toward a progressively heavier sound. Their 2003 release Australasia still has some of the heaviest, riff-filled tracks on a post-rock album to this day. Songs like “Immutable Dusk” and “The Tundra” on Forever Becoming echo the thick, bold sounds of Australasia while also making room for small pockets of ambience. Other tracks have a quieter and darker moods. The majestic simplicity of "Terminal” brings chills and sounds similar to the song “Ataraxia” off of Ataraxia/Taraxis in it's lofty ways. “Perpetual Dawn” calmly ends an album of sheer heaviness on a gentle note, a good move on their parts. In addition, it’s pretty neat that they decided to start the album with “Immutable Dusk” and end it with “Perpetual Dawn.” Pelican have once again created an album that we will long remember.

For details on the new album(or any of their old ones)and their tour schedule, Check this out