Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God

Alt Rock – Released April 30, 2021 – 11 songs, 46 mins

ROZ’s album drop:

For the first time, this week I’ll be choosing a follower’s pick. I’ve heard of this band before but I’ve never actually sat down and given them a listen. My pick for this week is Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God.

REID

In the mid-2000’s my sister had a boyfriend who was a very talented musician. His whole family were into the local music scene and luckily for me, I was exposed to some cool artists along the way. One of those was Madman Orchestra. That exposure has always thrown me off when thinking of this week’s band, Manchester Orchestra. The Million Masks of God is my first true listen.

The album gets off to an odd start as they rhyme ‘Inaudible’ with ‘audible’. Obviously not a deal breaker, I just find it strange, especially as the opening lyrics to the album. The song itself, Inaudible, didn’t do much for me. It really felt like a tune-up to the second track, Angel of Death, which was much better and more representative of their style. Unfortunately, my review of this song is basically how I feel about the whole album. It starts off well, the music is good, lyrics are meaningful, vocals are strong… but it’s about two minutes too long and those last two minutes are boring. Throughout the whole album, I’m waiting. Waiting for that umph, that ‘it-factor’ and I never find it. Other than the 4-minute opener, it feels like I’m listening to the same song for the remaining 42. I do really enjoy Annie and there are a few other notable moments on the album.

The Million Masks of God has a few good tracks but as a compilation, it’s too long and similar sounding. 

Overall Rating – 6/10

Favourite Song – Annie

ROZ

Manchester Orchestra is a band name that I've heard a lot lately, whether it be through social media shares or word of mouth from friends. After seeing a follower's request for us to review their new album, I just had to set it up and get it over to the Steve's for this week's review.

One thing I really appreciated about this album was the absolutely seamless transitions between tracks - the album jumps from one song to another in such a subtle way that before I knew it I was already four songs in. The album itself is built much like an epic film score, with the energy constantly in a state of flux while holding one singular motif - a man's dealing with grief and loss after losing a loved one. The lyrics held weight and the vocal performance by the lead really added that extra emotion and strength behind the words.

Album standouts for me were Inaudible (those vocal harmonizations and particularly that chord progression kicking in at 2:30 gave me chills), Annie (the vocals and that guitar picking, chefs kiss), and Dinosaur (everything about this), with the latter being my favorite of the bunch. On top of all of this, the production value was absolutely fantastic - I read afterwards that the mixing engineer spent 6 hours a day mixing this thing for 3 months straight and it shows. No space in the frequency spectrum is left empty, no corner of my eardrum isn't being tingled by the wall of sound that this album unleashes.

Two weeks in a row now at TSR I've been impressed. MO delivers an epic adventure through soundwaves which could easily double as a movie soundtrack, and now that I've listened to the album a dozen times I can see why it's been plastered all over the place. Everything comes together to form one giant cohesive story while also extracting many of the elements that I like from within the indie rock genre as a whole. The Million Masks of God gets two thumbs up from me.

Overall Rating – 8.7/10

Favourite Song – Dinosaur

LUNDI

Alternative Rock, a genre popularized in the 90’s as a departure from the norm, has grown today to be the basic sound of rock with Indie Rock taking the rains as being the oddball. My experience with Manchester Orchestra has been that while solid, they were a basic alt rock band however with The Million Masks of God they have elevated their game and produced a record much more deserving than being passed off as basic. 

The album is carried by the unique voice styling of singer-songwriter Andy Hull who manages to pull you into every song with his vocals. On Million Masks they are more than just that though as the band combines simplistic guitar riffs and bass lines, keyboard elements, and booming drums into grandiose instrumentals and backing tracks. 

Over the 45 minutes the record holds the attention of the listener and offers more than enough elements to beg you for additional listens. The lyrics are moody and emotional and it’s an evolution of a band I am pleasantly surprised to see. We started this in hopes of finding new bands, but it’s nice that it can also offer up the opportunity to give a deserving band a second chance. 

I struggle to find anything bad to say. It’s not perfect by no means but it sure is an excellent rock offering by the band. Million Masks lifts Manchester Orchestra from Alt Rock label to the more progressive and experimental indie rock. It’s an album worth digging into by any fans of the genre and I hope to hear one day what these guys have to offer in person. 

Overall Rating – 7.9/10 

Favourite Song – Keel Timing