Staff Reviews

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface

Review by Aidan Reynolds

The band have torn themselves apart just to see what’s inside»

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Always a band to push themselves creatively with each subsequent release, Atlanta-based Manchester Orchestra have expanded their dynamic sound to peak form on the cinematic and epic A Black Mile To The Surface. The album, featuring production from Catherine Marks (Foals, PJ Harvey, The Killers), John Congleton (St. Vincent, Explosions In The Sky, Angel Olsen), and their longtime studio partner Dan Hannon, showcases a band that rethought, deconstructed, and rebuilt their songwriting process to propel their music into a new emotional arena, drawing on singer / guitarist Andy Hull and co-writer / multi-instrumentalist Robert McDowell’s unique experience scoring the 2016 Sundance hit film Swiss Army Man (directed by The Daniels). The album is a bold record of vision and purpose, inspired by and dwelling in a sensory and imaginative experience. It’s a reinvention of sorts, both musically and personally, and an evolution of the band, while also retaining the sweeping, melodic, and anthemic sounds for which Manchester Orchestra has become known.
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