The music video’s original purpose was merely to advertise the current single, which was, in turn, put out to test the water and tease the audience for the longer album release to come. Well, technology has moved on, as has taste, not to mention marketting, and the music video has now become something else for those smart enough to embrace it fully. In the hands of those who can see its full potential, it has become a format and art form in its own right. No one knows that better than Abrasive Trees.
But then, as the name implies Mill Session is not just a music video, it is a live document of three songs, interspersed with the band introducing the ideas and creative process behind each. As a band, they are, loosely speaking, an experimental one, free-flowing and often, if not quite formless, at least following their own direction and design. As you progress through the songs, you witness a neat blend of everything from progressive attitudes to post-rock forms, ambient soundscaping to alt-rock drive, cinematic vibes, and no small amount of sonic avant-gardening.
“Star Sapphire” builds from deftly picked guitar lines and eerie slashes of the cello into more beat-driven sounds, spiraling upwards into a squalling, though far from chaotic soundscapes – heavy yet perfectly constructed, a fantastic balance of muscle and melody. And from there, it ebbs and flows between sonic peaks and spaciousness, musical crescendoes, and understated interludes.
“Tao To Earth” embraces some psychedelic trippiness and staccato riffs to balance the more noisescape urges, and the result is a blend of clever contouring and music that again teeters on the edge between composition and deconstruction. It also features some captivating spoken word deliveries, adding an intriguing element and another layer of voice-as-instrument tone and texture. Finally, “Kali Send Sunflowers” is another song that builds brilliantly from beguiling, eastern-infused lines into western, hard rock salvos, a perfect meeting of Orient and Occident.
Even if such more progressive or experimental strands of rock are not your thing, there is something brilliant about watching a band this adept at their trade, so creative in their vision, playing such ornate and intricate music live and in full view. And, if you do have a craving for such experimental and progressive forms of music, rock music with a grandeur more usually found in the classical world, music with both groove and grace, power and poignancy, then this will be one of the best things you will have seen and heard in a long time. I’ll put money on the fact.
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