Maybeshewill – No Feeling Is Final | Album Review

Whilst Maybeshewill never quite got to the very summit of the post-rock hierarchy over the span of their career, it goes without saying that their absence was immediately very much noted when they disbanded in 2016.

Often regarded as one the best acts within UK post-rock by peers both in and outside the confines of the scene, it wouldn’t be too hyperbolic to state that the Leicester born band directly countered the notion that post-rock is a genre critically lacking in both emotion and innovation. Every record released by the band prior to their hiatus – from 2008’s riff-laden Not For Want Of Trying to the incandescent allure of 2014’s Fair Youth – saw the band furthering their sound and fearless musical ambition. As the years and records went by, Maybeshewill cultivated a sound that was emotional as it was daring and ambitious, constructing a musical palette of post-rock, electronic and orchestral work that saw no boundaries in its pursuit of articulating the human condition in its most painstakingly detailed form. So with this in mind, when the band removed their brush from such a palette and laid it to rest for what seemed to the final time prior to a hiatus, a void appeared in the UK scene. Thankfully, such a hiatus was ultimately short and now the band are back with No Feeling Is Final, a body of work that sees the band offering what can only be described as their most detailed and striking work to date.

As its namesake alludes to, No Feeling Is Final is a record born of polarising emotions, viewpoints and the inner conflict that comes with such mental strife. On one hand, it’s a product of weary resentment of the state of the world at large; one that laments how the inherent greed of capitalism has resulted in a planet of systematic injustice where scorched dead earth is being retaken by rising acidic oceans. However, on the other hand, it’s an urgent message of hope and collectivity, a message of solidarity that urges one to stay engaged, stay informed and connect with the emerging grassroots movements that refuse to accept this world of social and natural ruin that has been offered as the singular option. No Feeling Is Final is the towering, expansive and intensely poignant sound of a band that has been pulled back into action because they have something urgent and crucially important to share and express. It’s Maybeshewill at their most inspired, driven and urgent – and quite frankly – it’s the full unbridled evolution of the one of the most uncompromising and greatest names within the post rock game.

As the record pulsates into being with ‘We’ve Arrived At The Burning Building’, it’s transparent that this is a record of urgency. Simultaneously however, it’s clear that despite it’s thematic concept, it’s not one of musical hostility; at least not for the most part. Creeping in with synthetic beats, the track erupts into solemn bowed strings that almost feel akin to a funeral march for the final dregs of decent humanity remaining upon Earth, one that intensifies as the track further blossoms with added keys and crashing percussion.

The following songs ‘Zarah’, – a track named in honour of Labour MP Zarah Sultana – and ‘Complicity’ follow in similar pursuit and further establish the musical focus of this record. Whereas the aforementioned Fair Youth saw the band narrowing in on more orchestral textures in order to exemplify feelings of bliss and comfort, No Feeling Is Final doubles down on such orchestral instrumentation to hammer home its urgency. Of course, lashings of orchestral motifs are certainly not new within the world of post-rock, nor the work of this band, but such a focus here is the very bedrock and foundation of this record. Tense bowed strings and dramatic keys blossom against the band’s punchy percussion and guitar driven leads in a way that’s not shoehorned but purely and fantastically organic and truly heightens the feelings of both urgency and strife that this record narrates.

Whilst this newfound focus is implemented in such a way that some may be quick to dub this album as being a more neoclassical body of work, this record feels truly alive and inspired with this musical direction. Furthermore, it only intensifies the twist and pull between frustrated despondency and ardent hope that serves as the crux of this album whilst also allowing this record to be the band’s most cinematic and vivid body of work yet; quite the feat given this group’s back catalogue. In a way that’s somewhat reminiscent of the output of current day PG.Lost and MONO, ‘Invincible Summer’, ‘The Weight Of Light’ and lead single ‘Refuturing’ serves as swatches of deeply textured musical emotion open to contemplative interpretation, allowing one to imprint their own meanings into the delicately and painstakingly detailed textures intertwined here. Even with a tonal shift, such tracks harken back to the band’s material from yesteryear. There are conceptual leads within these songs, but with these tracks Maybeshewill provide you with a rich soundtrack and invite you to conjure your own mental films and meanings against them.

Still, there’s absolutely no denying that this record is Maybeshewill’s most dramatic, cinematic and awe-inspiring work to date. No Feeling Is Final sounds simply colossal; partly due to its sublime production but primarily due to how these sweeping orchestral pieces are amalgamated with both their established take on the genre and the imperative urgency that initially led to its creation. ‘Green Unpleasant Land’ serves as one of the most poignant and jaw dropping moments within this band’s career, with the track directly confronting the fallacy that the United Kingdom is a place of tolerance and tranquillity in a way that’s utterly pulverising and fraught with justified frustration. In similar nature, the initially warm, spindly ‘Even Tide’ and ‘The Last Hours’ masterfully ebb and flow between quiet splendour and gargantuan heft, amplifying and making the conceptual and intellectual juxtaposition in this record palatable in a way that’s articulated with poetic prose. Nevertheless, every single moment on this record feels full of emotion and strife in a way that’s mentally fulfilling to be the point of being overwhelming.

In all though, No Feeling Is Final simply is phenomenal in every way possible. Not only does it bear witness to Maybeshewill’s ardent focus on progression, it’s an achingly beautiful and tormented piece of art that is certainly a product of the increasingly tempestuous times we are collectively enduring. Throughout the ten tracks present here, the band vividly touch upon themes of anxiety, exasperation, fury and much required hope in a that’s that non linear, distinctively human and expressed with cinematic majesty. With this body of work, Maybeshewill present their most poignant art piece to date and prepare to take to the gilded peak of the post rock hierarchy they have longed looked up upon.