"Dogwood Rust" activates the fuzzed-out, manipulated, rock-crushing side of this five piece from the get-go and lambasts the speakers with the same kind of punishment they've made a name for themselves on. Comet on Fire have undoubtedly changed, though, adding a melodic, tuneful side to their chaotic free-form rock.
Blue Cathedral had plenty on it to offer in the way of southern comforts and with a name like "Whiskey River" on that album it would be impossible not to think a little of the country's lower region had touched this band's ears. Comets on Fire weren't finished there, though, and everything on Avatar points to the rowdy and relaxed land below the Mason-Dixon. "Dogwood Rust" rumbles and soars in a haze of cymbals and walking bass lines, guitars springing over that rhythm with a strut and maybe some stumbling: it's a righteous mix of all things rock 'n' roll.
There's a purity in its sound that can't help but illicit all the silliest guitar solo faces in the world. With the rhythm section holding everything down nice and tight, everyone else in the band has the chance to show their stuff, literally exploding with bits of melody and feedback. I'm not sure I could handle this much rock if this pace were continued throughout the album and the band shows their increased song-writing ability by keeping that mania present, but slowing things down a little, focusing their noise enraptured energy into smaller spaces and slower cadences.
After the rough and tumble "Dogwood Rust" comes to a halt, the band turns everything down without damaging their sound, without removing themselves from that power that made them so unavoidable in the first place. "Jaybird" is a sweetly melodic jam that meanders about as though a stroll in the country were its only natural comparison. Ethan Miller's vocals seem to be simultaneously yelled and whispered, carried by the incessant circularity of the again excellent rhythm section. The whole band seems to loosen up, but they continue to play with that same insistence, that same forward driving motion that makes all of their songs rock by necessity. Avatar is riddled with songs like this. "Lucifer's Memory" and "Sour Smoke" both feel propelled by the fiery hand of a rock 'n' roll Jesus, but their jazz-influenced arrangements bring all the sound to a smokey crawl. Some of these songs could easily be dances as orchestrated in hell by the spirits of a demented voodoo tribe or they could be smoked-out ritual music for people out to have a good time. I guess it doesn't matter, this stuff sounds fantastic.
There's plenty of freaked out, fuzzy bliss on Avatar, too. "The Swallow's Eye" starts slow and then begins to take off, slowly building the sort of steam that can only end in disaster; the result is the concussive, million-mile-per-hour thrash fest, "Holy Teeth." It's as though the band couldn't keep a lid on their excitement and they just had to give themselves the opportunity to sacrifice their instruments and blow their amps to dust.
This album holds together well and stands out in my mind as one of the best things released this year for a lot of reasons, but the main one is that Comets on Fire have their own voice and no matter how much they borrow from the past or from other, well-known genres, that voice stays loud and clear. On top of that, they've continued to grow as songwriters; their obsession with sound and power has evolved. They've learned how to handle that aspect of their music incredibly well while juggling the tasks of writing great songs with memorable melodies and keeping their approach fresh the entire time.
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