When it comes to currently running ambient acts, they do not get any more prolific than Stars of the Lid. Having released material since 1995, the duo made up of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie have relocated since releasing their last album and absolute masterpiece The Tired Sounds Of... and found themselves living more than 6,000 miles apart. This distance might have put a lull in terms of releasing albums but it surely has not taken away from the quality of their output as And Their Refinement of the Decline reminds us that there is no one who does it better than these two.
While I sit, geographically almost halfway in between members in a coffee shop in Toledo, OH, I am reminded exactly why you shouldn't listen to records like this in places like these. The silences created by Stars of the Lid in between large moving drones molded from strings, horns, guitars, and various other instruments are not meant to be filled with some scruffy faced twenty-something doing John Mayer covers. Instead they are there to ground you and remind you that you are where you are. There are plenty of reminders as well as this album spans two CD's and finds itself lasting over two hours.
On the surface it does seem like not much has changed since The Tired Sounds Of..., but that is certainly not the case. There are more songs as opposed to songs divided into separate movements. Despite the idea of movements becoming further removed, the album does take on a bit more of an orchestral feel with the amount of horns and strings on the album. Songs such as "Apreludes (In C Sharp Major)" and "Hiberner Toujours" demonstrate this the best on the album. The band has continued with some of the romantic song titles found on The Tired Sounds Of with songs like "Even If You're Never Awake (Deuxième)" but found themselves going back to some of their more sarcastic titles as well with "That Finger on Your Temple is the Barrel of My Raygun" and one of the best song titles I have ever heard, "December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface" proving that underneath all of that very serious music is a light side to it all.
Over the years the band has found itself with other projects and you can feel the influence on this album from them. "A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaning(Less) Process" sounds as if it were off of McBride's solo album When the Detail Lost It's Freedom while "Humectez La Mouture" displays a sound established best from Wiltzie's work with The Dead Texan. Neither project strayed incredibly far from Stars of the Lid's style but it's nice to see the changes they did have incorporated into Stars of the Lid's newest work.
Overall, I think any prior fan of Stars of the Lid knew that they wouldn't disappoint with a new record. With the newfound resurgence of ambient music lately with artists such as Eluvium, Mountains, and even Growing, this record will be a very nice introduction to one of the long running veterans of the scene. And Their Refinement of the Decline is an instant classic and a reminder that they are surely one of the best duos ever.
