Like so many of us reviewers/writers, I mostly get odd or straight up unprofessional promos but every now and then I have the pleasure of reviewing something not only good but from a familiar face. Such is the case with Breaths' debut Lined In Silver, a massive concoction of doom and gloom befitting of humanity's current (read last xy years) state.
However, as with everything, light and warmth can be found and Jason Roberts, the sole member of this project, achieves such an effect by utilizing atmospheric passages, soothing melodies and clean vocals.
Countless bands have done this, a decent number of them being among my all time favorites but it's the seemingly effortless and tasteful transitions and strong songwriting that makes Roberts' work stand out enough as well as his particular blend of genres.
The base of this genre cocktail is post-metal along the lines of Isis but this line is often blurred. Be it the colossal, Pallbearer-like weight and emotional highs in the massive "In Nightmares", djenty heffiness of "The Forgotten Ones", shoegazey ambiance of "In Repose" or the black metalesque bursts in "A Year On Fire", whatever Roberts opts for, it feels natural. I don't think I need to emphasize how impressive that is for a solo project and a debut but seeing as I just did, let's see what else we got in store for us.
Now I could do the tired trope of listing tracks and describing them but we (me) here at Gazebo incorporated™ strive for creative approaches which is one of the reasons why writers blocks are particularly nasty in these realms and I can assure you that they are absolutely not the reason why this particular review is taking me so long to write. Anyhow, back to the matter of hand!
As far as I can tell Lined In Silver is dedicated to Roberts' young daughter, think of it as a (dis)comforting lullaby of sorts and it's because of this connection that the record has this big emotional angle which I really like. Of course there is much more here but for now let's discuss the eponymous opening track and why it's important. Not only does it showcase each of Roberts' strengths but sets up the whole record in an extremely satisfying matter. The gentle, shoegazy intro, the warm and comforting clean singing, the dramatic and sudden shifts and introduction of numerous key motifs, it has a little bit everything you'll find down the line but enough to get you hooked which it does successfully. Oh and Roberts' daughter has a really cute cameo at the end of the track and a less cute but more badass one in "Like Wires".
Regarding the motifs, I noticed a few, the most important one revolving around sleep, be it literally like in "In Nightmares" which to me sounds like a nasty encounter with sleep paralysis or as a metaphor for society like in "The Forgotten Ones" which tackles animal slaughter that takes place in mass meat factories or the aforementioned lulling to sleep in the closer "In Repose". Interestingly enough, all of this makes Lined In Silver feel like a concept album despite it not being one which to me shows how well thought out everything is and the previously-mentioned "In Repose" cements this by repeating the lines from the opener in a slightly altered way and being the prog Chadirgin™ I am, this made me really happy.
Of course this would not be as impressive if the music wasn't great and this my friends is an ideal self-created opportunity to transition into the musical sides of things.
But before we do that, allow me to showcase CHNNLR for a bit. It's Roberts' other band which released the EP Chrysalis last year and if you think this is a shout out, you are correct BUT it's more than that I promise!
One look at the title of the embedded track will provide enough context but I would also like to point out how great the poppy tendencies are thus "smoothly" transition right back towards the record in question.
Deftones. That's right, Deftones. They are a band most of you know I love but as it turns out, our boi here is also another connoisseur of fine taste and it shows in a wonderful way. "The Forgotten Ones" stands out in particular for me because of the main djenty riff which not only reminds me of "You've Seen The Butcher" but does the repetition thing™ much better due to Roberts' more dynamic approach to guitar playing. Not to throw shade on Flat Earth Stef because he is a unique guitarist but I love how fluid (almost) everything is here.
The parenthesized almost is because of only two things, the overlong outro to closer "In Repose" and certain parts of the extra chonky "In Nightmares" but apart from that, Lined In Silver is surprisingly digestible despite its long one hour running time. The only track I am not enthralled with currently is "A Year On Fire" but even it has some memorable moments like the absolutely ferocious breakdown and very cool spoken-like word part that comes before it.
Apart from that, those two instances of bloat, the only other thing that hinders the record just a bit is the clean vocal delivery as I feel more range would do good, especially after hearing CHNNLR but that is a nitpick of sorts because as a whole, Lined In Silver is a success and sublime start for the project and I have to wonder how Jason will surprise us on the follow up which is in the works as we (me) speak (write)!
Until then I can only speculate but as for you dear reader, if you still haven't, absolutely introduce yourself to this underground gem of a record and enjoy the ride. You'll be hard pressed to find anything with these levels of polish and attention to detail from solo projects in 2021 and you can take my word for it!
Only time will tell how well the record will fare by the end of the year but judging how much I listened to the damn thing thus far, I reckon it will be pretty good and I am elated to see praise coming from virtually everyone, it's absolutely deserved and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
Lined In Silver was released independently and through Trepanation Recordings in March 26th.
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