Take Acre, Take Acre
Featured Album
Instrumental post-rockers make a promising opening statement
The opening notes of Take Acre’s debut album seem not to intrigue the ear so much as corral it. Bursts of electric guitar notes repeat in tight cycles right up front. Meanwhile, the warped luster of lap steel flirts with the ears just below the surface of the tune. Drums and bass walk in nonchalantly from either side. The volume rises. The song’s tempo increases, giving the impression of a tight space getting tighter until all that’s left is the listener in the center of it all. This is a pattern that repeats throughout.
Consisting of electric guitar, lap steel, bass and drums, Take Acre falls into the category of instrumental post-rock that savors the embrace of repetition, and adopting change only as reflected through intensity, not pitch. It’s an approach easy to warm to, but one that can lead to boredom in the absence of an unusual ingredient or two. Exhibit A: lap steel, the inclusion of which adds bright edges to the quartet’s lush waves of sound. Take Acre’s meticulous treatment of the melody is a pleasant thing to experience on its own, but juxtaposed against the wild aeronautics of a lap steel knocks the album up a notch for enjoyability.
Fans of Explosions in the Sky and Dirty Three should gravitate toward this. By way of introduction, Take Acre has made a promising opening statement.
