Pg.lost
It's not me, it's you!
Black Star Foundation
Pg.lost's newest recording, "It's not me, it's you!", is almost double the length of their previous effort "Yes I am". The opener alone is nearly the duration of the previous record's first two tracks, though this space is well used: a slow, almost discordant swell bursts into a mass of distortion, a wave which breaks and allows for the tinkling of soft piano notes in its recession. The last few moments of "The day shift" are amazing: a lush, thick mingling of instruments in the final throes of a beautifully composed song, finally breaking down to the near inharmonious strains from which it began. Darker than "Yes I am", "It's not me, it's you!" takes a few more steps away from the 'big names' (if there can be such a thing in such a niche movement) of the post-rock genre. "Jonathan", my personal favorite, revels in deconstructing the rock guitar riff and Bloc Party-esque drum line, washing over these elements with beautiful delay-heavy guitar. "Maquina" is gorgeous and schizophrenic -- suddenly, though not jarringly, shifting from a soft, Explosions in the Sky-like vein into a violent accumulation of heavy guitars and drums -- further establishing the originality of Sweden's Pg.lost. While "It's not me, it's you!" is a fantastic record, something doesn't work quite as powerfully as it did on "Yes I am". At times, it feels as though they are trying to attempt to do with thick brush strokes what they were doing with finer detail on their previous outing. However, espite its faults, it is more than deserving of a place in your record collection.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
