Album review: Sprawling Post Rock project Sound Mass announced third album and Texas mini tour
When our friends with Austin band, My Education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught told us a new album was coming ten years after the release of their second collaboration, it was a bit of a surprise it took that long to make the follow-up to Sound Mass II: Spiritual Docking. It was particularly perplexing given that the recording sessions for this release, entitled Ampersand were made in 2019 not long before the worldwide pandemic put a stop to pretty much everything including collaborations between awesome post-rock bands.
The story of this collaboration goes all the way back to June 2010. My Education found themselves in the midst of a West Coast tour with three days to kill in Salt Lake City. Luckily, guitarist Brian Purington had been in touch via email with Theta Naught bassist Ryan Stanfield, about a possible joint effort. Studio time was quickly booked and utilized. Both outfits quickly agreed that their planned show at SLC’s famed DIY venue Kilby Court should become an avenue for further collaboration and experimentation. Ten musicians squeezed onto the stage of the tiny venue. An evening of noisy, exhilarating, cacophonous and yet somehow controlled joyous fun ensued. Fans can hear the results of that first record here.
On Friday, July 19, Ampersand will finally see the light of day and Sound Mass will go on a multi-city Texas tour July 18-22, hitting San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Elgin. The record was recorded at Clock Right Studios in Austin and will be released on the Rural Isolation Project label. The brief, four city tour allows musicians from across the globe to convene for a long-overdue reunion. My Education guitarist, Brian Purrington now resides in New Zealand, Theta Naught member, Ryan Stanfield makes his home in Salt Lake City and several members of My Education still live in Austin. The logistics of this tour are no joke. Fans of Sound Mass will no doubt recognize the rare chance to see this talented collaboration perform again after a decade-long hiatus.
The eight-track recording is ambitious, as all three of these records have been, but the long experience of the players along with an un mistakable chemistry between the players led to this outstanding effort. The long intro on opening song, “Let’s Get Down” sounds like the call of Japanese Taiko drums rallying the troops to war except it’s a list of exceptional musicians like drummer Lisa Cameron of ST 37, another project of My Education member, Scott Telles (bass). Listeners will hear My Education member James Alexander’s viola in the mix along with guitar work from Chris Hackstie as well as Purrington.
The instrumentation changes each song but you’ll hear two bass guitars, two drum kits, three guitars, a pedal steel guitar, keyboard and synths along with viola and cello on our favorite track, “The Clam.” The song comes in as the fourth tune on Ampersand and begins with synth-driven sounds that evoke horns with a slow, insistent drum beat that gains steam as the other instruments slowly join in. The 12-plus minute song might be our favorite due to the jazz and improvisational elements of the song which allow the musicians to expand into a full-fledged jam until it becomes a steam train of intensity as the listener hears the entire band kick into fifth gear for the second half of the track.
Other standout songs on the record include “Water Demon” and “Fire Demon” which appear as the second and third songs on the new record. It is clear that these two numbers have similar titles and appear next to each other in the trackless because they go together with the former highlighting Alexander’s viola work which is gorgeously played. The nearly nine-minute song segues seamlessly into the companion piece which features a more uptempo pace than its predecessor.
It might be our own bias about the town we live in, but “Deep Austin,” the fifth track on Ampersand stands out with it’s viola introduction, slow drums that eventually crescendo into vaguely psychedelic guitar parts as the intensity and volume slowly increase and acts as a sonic bridge the second half of the album.
Thursday’s tour kickoff takes place at the Lonesome Rose in San Antonio’s Mary Street district on Thursday, July 18 with The Gary and My Education. followed by a gig at Carousel Lounge in Austin on the 19th. Fans can RSVP for the Austin show by clicking the Carousel Lounge poster above. Then the massive band heads to Houston for a show at Big Star Bar, then the tour wraps in Elgin outside of Austin at Lightnin’ Bar. We recommend catching a show. We’re certain you haven’t seen a show like this.
Featured photo of Sound Mass at Austin Psych Fest 2015 courtesy of My Education
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