It has been a rather tumultuous year for Mouth of the Architect. Late last year the band announced their breakup as a result of the departure of their main songwriter and guitarist/vocalist. Not more than a few days later the band had a change of heart, revealing they would be continuing on, and with original vocalist/guitarist Alex Vernon returning to the group. The change-up surfaced a lot of questions, none more than how it would affect the band's sound.
Quietly is the follow-up to 2006's The Ties That Blind and shows a different songwriting approach for obvious reasons. While still rooted in the valley between post-rock and metal, the band's sound is less guitar-driven and more guitar-accented than its predecessor, if that makes sense. Where as before the guitars were the primary instrument of the material, the guitars are now just a part of the final equation that is Mouth of the Architect.
"Quietly" opens the eight-song album with a ten-minute plus foray into the world of post-rock, drone metal, and noise-rock. The resulting sound is not unlike what the band first delivered on Time and Withering. The song moves through different phases of soaring guitars and intricacies as well as devastating riffs and low-end fury. It's really an all-encompassing song and the perfect reintroduction to the group. Mouth of the Architect move along with "Hate and Heartache," another elongated adventure that demonstrates the band's rekindled focus as songwriters. The drumwork is especially worth noting; providing a solid backbone for the rest of the band to shape the song around.
The pace takes a step back with "Pine Boxes," a short piano-led interlude. While interesting in of itself, it does take away from the overall focus of the album. Later on the same happens with "Medicine," shifting the momentum of the album.
In spite of the shortcomings, Quietly maintains itself to be a strong album. "Generation of Ghosts" contains additional vocals from Julie Christmas of Made out of Babies. Her sweet melodies provide the perfect accompaniment to the textured experience set forth by the band. And "A Beautiful Corpse" provides a great closing to the album; the song is easily the band's heaviest work to date.
Quietly is an interesting release as a result of the turmoil that surrounded the band. The shakeup of the band's songwriting team reveals a lot about the direction in which the band was perhaps being held back from on their previous recordings. One thing is obvious; Mouth of the Architect has persevered and continued to demonstrate they are a band worth taking notice of, regardless of what direction the head.
