Pelican - What We All Come To Need

Pelican is an instrumental band consisting of :

Laurent Schroeder-Lebec -guitar
Trevor de Brauw -guitar
Bryan Herweg - bass
Larry Herweg - drums

**************************************************************************

What We All Come To Need is one of those albums that needs repeated listens to soak in all of the little nuances it has to offer. In that respect it reminds me of a really good Jazz album. You have multiple rhythms that flip flop from being in the forefront then moving to backing music. The trick is not to overwhelm the listener with an overabundance of notes. The pauses and rests define What We All Come To Need every bit as much as the big guitar crunches of lurching bottom end which are played with precision.

The dirty riff that opens "Ephemeral" is reminiscent of the early 90's Sub Pop guitar bands. This gives way to a quicker sinister chucking that is all the more effective in the small doses that Trevor and Laurent utilize the technique on this album.

Specks of Light
"Specks of Light" is the track that I keep hearing over and over again in my head. The initial killer groove gives way to an impressive break that subsists on Bryan's bass and Larry's drums .


Pelican, along with bands like Isis, is proving that metal has grown up. It's been fully established as a respected form of music. Musicians now can use metal as a jumping off point to create something that is very unique much the way Pelican has been doing for years. This album has more identifiable/classic chord structures than their 2007 release City Of Echoes. It works because the band is confident with the switch. They added to the depth of the sound by having Greg Anderson, Aaron Turner (ISIS), Allen Epley (Life And Times), as well as Ben Verellen (Helms Alee) guest on this album. Pelican is at the point now where they employ just enough of the known metal to satisfy some aggression while at the same time delivering landscapes of music that touch on progressive and just good ole rock with an eye towards the final sound as a whole. At times I get happy flashbacks of native Illinois band Hum's expansive sound when listening to this album.

What We All Come To Need is on the Southern Lord label. Check out Boris from Japan who are also on Southern Lord.

Pelican will be playing a show at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago this Friday March 12th. Come check out their expansive sound and stay for the beer.