There was a time, probably back in around 2005/6, when Pelican were in my top 10 bands. Back then it seemed like Isis had spawned a whole new genre of music and I couldn't get enough of it. I remember that I went through this period when I felt that vocals RUINED music, and I would rather listen to some ten minute instrumental opus over a 2 minute hardcore blast. I don't think it was just me either. It seemed that lots of new bands of this style were springing up, and the 'press as many different colours of vinyl as possible' approach started getting out of hand as people could not get enough of this stuff.
These days I would say that I'm pretty much bored of this genre. I still listen to Isis from time to time, but I sold a lot of this kinda stuff already as I honestly don't care about much of it anymore. Still, Pelican were always my favourite, so I was keen to check out their latest album 'Forever Becoming'. I'm not sure exactly when it came out, but I only became aware of its existence when I started to see it for sale on eBay a couple of months ago. Obviously I had to have a colour copy.
My thoughts on this thing are mixed. I enjoyed it initially, but the problem was that after only two listens it felt familiar. I mean, it's good that they haven't strayed anywhere new or been too experimental... but at the same time, it feels a little stale and predictable. So overall, whilst I like it, it doesn't exactly fill me with excitement. Still, at least it looks nice eh?