We get excited by albums that list a lot of instruments. Check this out: bass, guitar, piano, synthesizers, electronics, shakers, violin, vocals, synthesizer, viola, keyboard, glockenspiel, bowed banjo, drums, cornet, cello, saxophone, harp, clarinet. Bowed Banjo? COUNT ME IN!
Those who have been following Rumour Cubes’ progression over the years know that the band impressed in 2010 with We Have Sound Houses Also and delivered a great debut album in 2012’s The Narrow State. You wouldn’t find yourself on this particular page if Appearances of Collections wasn’t fantastic, so make that three notable releases in four years. The relatively young post-rock act has been making some of the best new music for several years, and it’s about time we all took notice.
What maybe impresses me most about Rumour Cubes’ music is that it has a characteristic to it that I associate with European post-rock from the mid ’00s: being gutsy and taking risks. This marks albums such as Samuel Jackson Five’s Easily Misunderstood, Magyar Posse’s Random Avenger, Neil on Impression’s L’oceano Delle onde che Restano onde per Sempre, Sweek’s The Unbelieavable Cinematic Crash, UpcDownc’s And the Battle is Won, and so on — obscure bands (at the time of release) that could pull off a wild album due to their unrestrained ambition and stellar songwriting. Rumour Cubes comfortably fits into this group, and the craftsmanship on AoC is abundant evidence. The band gels as a singular unit, creating track after track of instrumental bliss that hits devastating highs as the audience is transported from one fireworks display to the next.
At the album’s conclusion, we’re still left with the feeling that there’s more to come from Rumour Cubes; better works may still lie ahead. Although armed with a plethora of instruments, talent, and slick songwriting, I can’t help but wonder if the band is yet to really branch out stylistically into all the areas that it aims to. This step often takes a group from being merely just dominate in its respective genre to a truly noteworthy addition to the musical scene. Many of the post-rock’s third wave of artists have faded into inactivity or operate on partial capacity (including most of the better bands), so it’s up to bands like Rumour Cubes to carry the torch forward.