This group of four high school friends from LA. have made a highly ambitious and hugely rewarding debut album.
With a total running time of over 77 minutes, the ten tracks have obvious jazz elements but is probably best described as math-rock.
The tunes have a loose quality as though the tunes have evolved out of improvised studio jams. A more full blooded rock sound with metronomic drum beat is continually underpinned by a subtle, unhurried chamber ambience. Each track has its own unique dynamic and most feature fragile vocals that drift in and out as if afraid to intrude too much.
Initially these vocals seem incongruous but you soon come to realise that they actually add another texture to the rich and varied group sound. The singer sounds like a shy Neil Young imitator and his words float aimlessly but undoubtedly belong. It is perhaps no coincidence that on one of only two tunes with no vocals (Holy Destination) there isn't quite the same organic fluidity as the other tracks.
The other instrumental is the delicate and comparatively brief opening track (Two-Too High) which serves as a dreamy lead in to the quite stunning title track. At 13 minutes and 6 seconds, this is the longest, and best track on the album. The meaty drum sound contributes to a complex but always fully controlled energy of the piece. It is one of three tracks last more than ten minutes and this is a band where you can confidently say, the longer the better.
Another highpoint is two tracks - Those Luminous Noises Are God + Legs To Walk Us, To Drop Us - which blend seamlessly into other to make for a fine, varied composition .
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PRETEND don't follow the ritual quiet-loud-quiet of other post-rock bands but derive their power from allowing the momentum and the fluid rhythms of each piece to develop. The move at our own pace - as if to say, you're welcome to come along for the ride if you want but no sweat if you don't. They are more interested in the journey than the destination.
Originally released in 2009, PRETEND are now signed to the relatively new, but highly promising Californian record label Shelsmusic who give careful attention to the packaging of their releases.
The album will be available through the usual download sites but is also being pressed as a limited edition digipak at their customised screen printing shop. It is certainly a record that fully merits such special treatment.
There are no grand gestures, anthemic choruses or driving riffs here, but this is a rich and absorbing album that is well worth seeking out.
Pretend website
Shelsmusic
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