bartosso Even cloud kicking wears off after a while...

I've been waiting for a masterpiece from Ben Sharp since the debut album. His vision of instrumental metal was so fresh at the time, it seemed obvious that one day, as a result of natural selection of sorts, he'd create something spectacular. Instead, Cloudkicker has been threading the same, safe path over and over again since then.

And yet there's no denying it's still a somewhat appealing instrumental rock, even if stale. Sharp's ability to create almost romantic soundscapes within his post-rock/soft-punk and post metal influenced music remains unmatched. It's such a shame, that his inability to eliminate weaknesses from the songwriting is still there, too. The problems we had with Beacons are still valid in Subsume. Repetitive build-ups, stiff progressions and many others are still major issues that make the time spent with Cloudkicker a tad tiresome. As a competent musician, however, Ben Sharp managed to keep things very atmospheric and consistent throughout and for that he deserves some praise.

Apart from "He would be riding on the subway or writing formulas on the blackboard or having a meal or (as now) sitting and talking to someone across a table, and it would envelop him like a soundless tsunami.", no track has actually burnt into my memory. Too much of the same, decent post-metal. Decent yet boring. Boring yet pleasant. Oh to hell with that, it's free so get it and see for yourselves.