You, You’re a History in Rust, the fifth album from Toronto post-rockers Do Make Say Think, is an even further departure from the inventive mixing techniques and electronic flourishes that complemented their first few albums. The record follows more or less in the tradition of their last full-length, 2003’s Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn, by placing the focus firmly on musicianship and the tracks’ natural arrangements rather than relying too heavily on studio gimmickry. The record finds the band stripping down and shedding some of their excess baggage, and subsequently moving closer, stylistically, to their folk roots on many of these pieces, which even include an alt-country-flavored vocal number redolent of contemporary Americana. In keeping with their entire back catalogue, however, You, You’re a History in Rust is as characteristically complex and heterogeneous as any of DMST’s previous releases, and in many ways is as much of an intriguing step forward as Winter Hymn.
Although the album consists of a mere eight tracks, it seems like it contains many more. Arranged as mini-suites, each of these multi-faceted songs unfolds slowly, frequently exhibiting a subtlety that belies their inherent complexity. Despite the occasional loud-quiet-loud flourishes, History in Rust comes off, by and large, less as post-rock, per se, than as instrumental indie rock of a sophisticated and varied nature. Like the aforementioned GY!BE, the Montreal band with a continuously rotating lineup of musicians, DMST are something of a collective as well, featuring numerous musical contributions that serve to infuse the album with something both spacious and grand in execution. The ever-present horn section is still a component of the work of DMST, but plays a relatively subdued role on this release, which is much more of an in-your-face guitar album than its predecessors.
“Bound to Be That Way,” the album’s opener, flirts with jazz structures with its unique chord shapes and eloquent dual drumming that later give way to an expansive, cinematic ambience surrounding a lonely fingerpicked guitar. “A With Living,” in which vocals factor heavily, comes off as somewhat bland, demonstrating how much more potent DMST are when they focus on melody and instrumental figures rather than acting as rhythmic support. One of the highlights of the album, “The Universe!”, is a propulsive, guitar-driven cut that showcases the more indulgent side of the band, demonstrating the outfit’s effectiveness when they deviate from their sense of restraint. “Executioner Blues” is a similarly constructed and panoramic piece that, until it implodes in its last few minutes, reveals the band’s uncanny ability to piece together guitar figures to create soaring, filmic arrangements. Elsewhere the record is steeped in a distinctly North American atmosphere, as on “You, You’re Awesome,” a country-tinged track drenched in slide guitar and gently overdriven, strummed guitar chords. You, You’re a History in Rust ends, as it begins, on a low-key and atmospheric note with “In Mind,” a sparsely arranged piece that brings melancholic horns and a skeletal marimba melody to the forefront, capping off another quixotic, cerebral, and indispensable album from one of Canada’s great talents.
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