Album Review: Civil Service – /// Light (Ripcord Records)

Civil Service, the instrumental Manchester, UK based post-rockers will release their debut album, ‘/// Light’ on CD and digital formats on October 4th (with vinyl to follow later) through Glasgow based label Ripcord Records.

I almost didn’t review this record. Not because of any ill will towards Civil Service or for lack of interest in what they are doing, but simply because of time. Time is a commodity and often, I just run out of it. It looked like that would be the case here, but considering you’re reading these words, obviously I found it somewhere. Why am I mentioning this? To add emphasis on what I would have missed out on, had I not. Civil Service have created something truly special here and it stays with you long afterwards.

Words may not be able to truly do this album justice because of just how wide the sonic landscape is. Civil Service sink to unfathomable depths, reach impossible highs, skirt the line between light and darkness perfectly, and still manage to create even more vibrant imagery in the mind as the album unfurls its detail. Detail that doesn’t just come from the music, as narrated storytelling comes from Caroline Cawley of Dystopian Future Movies and Church Of The Cosmic Skull adds so much. It’s an aspect of this record that helps make it all the more immersive.

Immersion, it’s a word that defines this album, but how each and every listener feels that is something else completely. Especially as Civil Service’s dramatics come from different directions, are expressed in different ways, and showcased in different styles. There are moments where all you can do is marvel at extravagant structure revealing itself stage by stage and the reality of this ambitious effort.

Yet, while there is so much to drink in, Civil Service are also capable of creating earnest rock movements, groovy touches, heavy rhythms, and infectious melodies too. Just because it offers up such an expansive sound, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a certain level of accessibility.

A certain level. Let’s be realistic here, this a style of music that isn’t for everyone, least of all those who don’t have the patience for it. You’ll need patience too as the five tracks of this album are not just long, but wide too. Creating feelings of despondency, feelings of elation, and everything in between. While each track can be listened to individually, the true flavour of this album comes from the ‘all in one’ experience. Especially as listening to it this way, certainly the first few times as well, shines a bright light on the collaborative nature of the album. This is Civil Service’s baby, but it also belongs to wider post-rock scene, and that community feel runs through it like a thick vein.

It leaves an indelible mark and even after multiple listens, I felt like I still hadn’t heard all it has to offer. There are so many layers, so much detail to unpack, and so much more to experience, this one will be on regular play for many months to come.

Civil Service – /// Light Track Listing:

1. She Would Never RETREAT; Their Negativity Just Made Her Stronger
2. Their LINES OF COMMUNICATION, Severed
3. Now Their Backs Are Bent in Postures Of APOLOGY
4. She Felt the Yawning Skyline: Intangible
5. She Felt the Yawning Skyline: Meaningless

Links

LinkTree | Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Ripcord Records