No Need For Lyrics
Too often bands will cite the main pressure of putting out a second, third or fourth album as being trying to live up to the expectations of the first. For many they fail to capture the magic of their debut and as such the fans can feel disappointed. For Leicester's Maybeshewill they decided to try a new tactic when approaching their third album; forget everything they had previously done and set out in the same way they set out to write their debut; no deadlines, no expectations and therefore no pressure. After 18 months they emerged with "I Was There For A Moment, Then I Was Gone", an album that places the dual aspects of Mogwai alongside Glassjaw to achieve a sound that is very much their own and is very much one not to be overlooked.
Intense, epic and demanding of your whole attention, "I Was There For A Moment, Then I Was Gone" is not an album to be idle with, you cannot appreciate it fully unless your ears are giving it their undivided attention and as such instrumentalists' Maybeshewill's third offering is one of overwhelming intensity, certainly not one for the faint hearted. Starting with the brilliantly titled, 'Opener' the album takes you on a journey, fitting considering the album is supposedly written as "the soundtrack to an as-yet unimagined film" taking you from the spritely 'Critical Distance' to the crushing rush of 'Accolades' which is reminiscent of early Biffy Clryo, within a blink of an eye. There is also time to capture some calm with the effortless grace of 'Words For Arabella' but ultimately it the bleakness and poignantly cheerless intensity of 'Farewell To Sarajevo' that packs the emotion punch. From the soaring synths that bleed into marching drum beats, 'Farewell To Sarajevo' pulls perfectly at the heart strings, rendering lyrics useless as Maybeshewill's epically vast instrumentals speak volumes.
For new comers to Maybeshewill, "I Was There For A Moment, Then I Was Gone" maybe something of a steep learning curve, something that maybe better appreciated in smaller spurts to fully appreciate but for those who have previously discovered the band, this is a return to form, a risk that certainly paid off for the Leicester band as returning to the original drawing board most definitely served them well. It maybe intense, it maybe harrowing at times but there is no maybe about how special this album is.