A Story In White

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Much like Aereogramme's 'White Paw EP', 'A Story in White' is music for the post-breakup aftermath - angst, regret, and longing sliced up and stitched together into slabs of torrential rock fits and piano-driven pop depression.

The disc opens, however, with a different feel. The first track, 'The Question is Complete', starts off with pure experimentation - guitar feedback, occasional cymbal crashes, and a throbbing like amplified sound filtered through the blades of an oscillating window fan. But then the anticipated heaviness shoulders its way through in the guise of thick guitar chords, overpowering the initial chalkboardesque feedback.

From there, melody mixes with muscle and dejection. For example, over a flood of strangely uplifting guitar crunch on 'Post-Tour, Pre-Judgement', Craig B. sings simply that "In a way/without hate/I wouldn't be what I am". Other moments on 'A Story in White' feel more bleak and exposed. The vocals on 'Descending' are complemented only by a single guitar and a faint whine like a distant airplane engine, augmenting the lonesomeness found throughout the lyrics.

Both 'A Story in White' and 'The White Paw EP' have the earmarks of great, blistering alternative pop records. They are laden with fierce, unforgiving riffs, and they know when to slow down and let emotion supercede power. But Aereogramme infuses something extra in its recordings. There's a direct, lyrical honesty that charges the songs and gives them a believability that lacks in most rock music about love, loss, and remorse. It's like stumbling across someone's diary; you know it's taboo to keep reading the pages, but each entry pulls you in further because they all seem to inform you about your own personal discoveries and letdowns.