EF – We Salute You, You and You
Release Date: 4th November 2022
Label: Pelagic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post Rock, Atmospheric, Cinematic.
FFO: Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Isis.
Review By: Jason James
After nearly 6 years of quietude, Gothenburg, Sweden natives Ef are finally returning with their new album, We Salute You, You and You on November 4.
This news should have filled me with undefinable glee. As a fan of the Post-rock/Cinematic subgenre of metal, this album should have been eagerly anticipated, and I should have been part of the clamour of fans that have been crying out for more from the Scandinavian songsters. There’s been nothing since their 2016 release, Vāyu.
But the truth is, I had never heard of Ef before I received this album in my dropbox for review. This band have been here for almost 2 decades, and have been well regarded in post-rock circles since their debut, Give Me Beauty… Or Give Me Death!, in 2006. This is a band I definitely should have crossed paths with.
But I hadn’t. Until now. We Salute You, You and You is an enigma of an album. At times stark and cold, others warm and full-bodied, it is a work of changing rhythms and moods. It has two main vocalists, one male and one female, and they use their very different voices to define the changing landscapes of each track, sometimes alone to amplify a certain feeling, sometimes in harmony to elicit calm and sorrow in equal measure.
There is a lot of instrumentation on the album. Guitars and drums, of course, but there is also piano, violins and also trumpets at one point, all intertwining to create a soundscape that is joyous in some instances, melancholy in others.
We Salute You, You and You starts off with the sweeping lead single, Moments of Momentum. Ef show what they are about from the beginning with 2 more rousing songs before settling down with Nio and Leuven, the former being a gentle conclusion to the previous track on the piano and the latter, an atmospheric experiment is mood and musicality. Then follows 2 more cerebral examinations of the essence of complex feeling.
This album manages to achieve what most good post-rock manages; to invite you to feel a full gamut of emotions and look inward, while at the same time being melodically expansive and stimulating. This album does what all good albums do; makes you want to go and check out the artist’s back catalogue to chart their progression. I can’t wait to experience Ef’s previous output.
(4.5 / 5)
