Pitched as an album about a village ravaged by fire, with tales of forest fires, earthquakes and volcanoes, 'Trials' begins with a fragile, sparse piano, almost subliminally building to a haunting miniature epic. Dark currents run through much of the album. Although largely preoccupied with volcanic eruptions, larval flows and immolation, the songs themselves are more given to softly simmering than scorching with a white-hot heat.
Images of destruction and devastation abound as Lawrence Becko depicts scenes of 'Fallen branches, broken seasons' where 'The air is thick with carbon dioxide' on the worshipful-sounding 'Volcano!'. It's followed by the contrasting cinematic chamber-pop of 'Night Song.' There's a discordant tension in the arch-gothic, theatrical 'Bears', while 'Trials (Part III)' - curiously placed in the running order before 'Trials (Part II)' - is a dark flamenco, brimming with passion, yet held under control with real effort.
By way of a reference point, 'Trials' shares much common ground with the brand of post-rock that I Like Trains have made their trademark, but without David Martin's baritone or the monumental crescendos, and instead leaning toward a more orchestral sound. Despite lacking the narrativity of ILT in lyrical terms, and despite not rendering the themes as coherently as to intertwine all of the songs along a single thematic thread, 'Trials' remains every inch a concept album, and every bit as powerful and affecting as their history-inspired Leeds contemporaries. 'Trials' is at times rousing, at others moving, and at all times packs melodramatic flourishes to contrive an imaginative album that is both compelling and rewarding.
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