Au Revoir Borealis

It seems inevitable that grand, slow-moving pop music will be compared to Sigur Rós. It may be unfair to paint Detroit's Au Revoir Borealis into that corner but the Icelandic quartet cast a long shadow - they weren't the first group to make beautiful, moody music with glacier-like pacing but they're the post-millennial flag bearers. Au Revoir Borealis back into each of their moody epics with long and often beautiful lead ins. But once a path is established the quartet seem unwilling or unable to change course in either dynamics or tempo, so it's hard to pick out individual tracks. Lead singer Stephenie Halpert McWalters coos like Chan Marshall overtop of each slow dirge but the music conspires against her, and she's buried under droning guitars and clanging cymbals. It's only on deep cut "The Key," propelled by a three-four time acoustic guitar rhythm, that the band really find their feet and McWalters her voice, singing a borrowed Celtic melody. Au Revoir Borealis know their destination, they just need to sort out how they'll get there.