Something about that missing question mark fascinates me, and I can't put my finger on just why. It is, I think, the open-endedness of it all. Do the words form a question if there is no punctuation? Is there some vast cosmic truth in the sub-text that couldn't possibly be surmised in a lonely swirl of ink? Perhaps the question is unanswerable, but perhaps the omission is simply Braveyoung's subtle rebellion against convention. The Portland-based project is, after all, "a punk band, kind of."
The four tracks are a strange orchestral triumph, all things said and done. Enigmatic strings form the foundations for a minimalist tower, delicate and vulnerable but undeniably steady. 'No Cure's ambient surroundings ripple and shudder with each stroke of a piano's ivory keys, ascending and swelling through a perfectly demonstrative reverb. The following track is introspection epitomised, fragile notes sent out to probe a haunting static fog. A dark key change creeps up on you, and an oddly human groan leads effortlessly into the final number. Here, strings and piano accumulate in an incalculable expanse of neoclassical awe, distant and pained and tear-jerkingly well-composed.
Stream and buy 'Will the Dust Praise You' from Braveyoung's Bandcamp.
