Two years ago, The Boxer Rebellion made a name for itself with its album titled “Union” through its majestic and uplifting songs. If you were simply looking for this same formula in its newest release, “The Cold Still,” you’ll need to look elsewhere. This album is dark, with the exception of a couple songs in the second half of the album.
That disclaimer aside, “The Cold Still” is even stronger than “Union.” Over the last two years, the group’s sound has matured. This album is more nuanced, more tightly focused and more musically rich and diverse than “Union.”
For fans who were looking forward to more of the same arena-worthy rock and alternative songs of two years ago, this album may take some getting used to. If you give it a chance, however, “The Cold Still” will show you that The Boxer Rebellion can still execute majestic builds to perfection, but that its musical skill set extends much further than you thought previously.
The album opens with quiet urgency in the form of “No Harm,” my favorite song on the album, which is driven by pulsing drums and piano. As with many of the songs on the album, Nathan Nicholson’s vocals take it from there. At times otherworldly, Nicholson’s voice soars over all instrumentation across this album, projecting extremely well and sounding pained at the same time.
The sense of dark and quiet urgency covers about half of the album. A quick look over the titles of the album’s songs give an indication of this atmosphere. Songs like “Locked in the Basement,” “Cause for Alarm” and “Doubt” are all subdued songs, filled with shifty drums and echoing guitars. This dark portion of the album is its strongest, proving that The Boxer Rebellion can operate in both dark and light styles of music, a skill few bands can boast.
The album is not exclusively dark, however. The band shifts gears with “Caught by the Light,” a song which starts off subdued, but features the sort of majestic build that many people love the band for.
This slightly lighter tone continues through songs such as “Organ Song,” a more upbeat song driven predominately by acoustic guitar, and “Memo,” a defiant rock song featuring heavy electric guitar.
The peak of the entire album, however, is “Both Sides Are Even,” another of my favorites on the CD. The song begins quietly, with simple electric guitar and mellow vocals. Eventually, however, string sounds enter in, serving as the beginning of a gradual and relentless build that culminates in musical moments that would be perfectly at home soaring over the cliffs of an island somewhere in the Pacific.
After another brief energetic song titled “The Runner,” The Boxer Rebellion closes things out with a song that captures the two personalities of the album as a whole.
“Doubt” begins as a quiet, almost mournful ballad. For about two and a half minutes, Nicholson and an acoustic guitar are all that is necessary. At that point, drums and electric guitar enters, building into one final moment of epic music.
“The Cold Still” is an album with two distinct personalities. On one side is a dark, pensive set of songs. On the other is a set of majestic rock songs that would make any fan of The Boxer Rebellion’s past work jump for joy. While I greatly enjoyed the majestic set of songs ““ I’m a sucker for epic music ““ the darker section of the album is a much stronger testament to The Boxer Rebellion’s ability to put varied, subtle musical elements together into seamless songs.
There is something for everyone in “The Cold Still.” You can listen to this album in the quiet of your room, or you can blast it in the car. Either way, you will surely enjoy this mature and extremely well-executed album.
E-mail Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu.