Label: Loma Vista
Released: 30th April 2021
Out of the ash and rubble of bursting through their ceiling in their last album, ‘The Million Masks Of God’ has Manchester Orchestra constructing a cathedral to house their ambition, emotions and sound.
There is a lot of space afforded within the album for the band to explore a story of life, death and beyond as an extension of the work begun on ‘A Black Mile To The Surface’. In fact, tracks like ‘Keel Timing’ and the single ‘Bed Head’ channel the same punchy attitude that makes them feel like relics from the last album but, ultimately, this album blossoms for being less claustrophobic than its predecessor and working at a slower pace.
More organically, flexes of power grow from carefully orchestrated restraint like in the faith questioning ‘Let It Storm’ and the enchanting ‘Dinosaur’. And, the reverence in Andy Hull’s voice is allowed to shine; none more so than in the soul-crushing finale of ‘The Internet’ where he soars to monolithic heights.
It makes for an outstanding offering from Manchester Orchestra. They’re managing to consistently raise the bar, and this time is no different; the bar is now stratospheric. If you squint, you may just about see it.
