For Against - Coalesced

Words On Music
(WM11: 628740668429)
Release date: 12/02/2002
Genre: Post Punk

$10.20

1. Medication, 2. So Long, 3. Fuel, 4. Coalesced, 5. Outside A Heart, 6. Shelflife, 7. Love You

Signposts: R.E.M., Chameleons, Felt, Kitchens of Distinction, Pale Saints.

“Jeffrey Runnings makes a serious case for himself as one of the past decade's most underrated tunesmiths. ‘Coalesced’ may very well be the best record For Against has ever done.” – POP CULTURE PRESS.

COALESCED is the sixth album by Lincoln Nebraska's eminent indie trio, FOR AGAINST, and was named album of the year by THE BIG TAKEOVER. Produced by MIKE MOGIS (Azure Ray, Bright Eyes, Cursive), COALESCED is the band’s first album since 1997 and mark’s FOR AGAINST’s triumphant return to the independent music scene. The album delivers Runnings' trademark soaring vocals enmeshed in a delicate latticework of guitars and punctuated rhythms, to craft an arresting blend of lucid, gorgeous atmospheres. "Medication" and "So Long" begin the album with Paul Engelhard's spry, energetic drumming anchoring Runnings' airy vocal melodies to Steven Hinrichs' sparkling guitars. "Fuel" follows, which, along with "Shelflife," are matchless ballads — perhaps the finest and most heartrending Runnings has ever composed. The anthemic "Coalesced" is the album's centerpiece, opening with an etching of the contemplative disposition of their 1987 debut ECHELONS, with Hinrichs' churning, reverbed guitar and Runnings' eighth note basslines recalling the early FACTORY RECORDS sound. The song ultimately bursts into a rousing chorus and then races through a jaw-dropping three-minute coda of vigorous guitar work and spectacular Engelhard fills. The finale, "Love You," resurrects Maurice Deebank-era FELT into an excursion of the scenic side of post-rock, weaving multiple layers of beautiful guitar melodies with a precise, balanced cadence and rhythm. In sum, COALESCED is a seamless, coherent masterpiece of riveting pop craftsmanship, unspoiled by studio contrivances or artistic pretensions.

“An incredible LP, full of cascading guitar sounds, naked tenderness and emotional meltdowns, and passage after passage of shimmering beauty. It's just plain dazzling.” – THE BIG TAKEOVER.

1. Medication (5.28)

2. So long (4.37)

3. Fuel (4.47)

4. Coalesced (6.57)

5. Outside a heart (3.34)

6. Shelflife (6.23)

7. Love you (5.16)