When Do Make Say Think first emerged in the late nineties, a comparison to Tortoise was quickly made and haunted them for quite awhile afterward. Though the influence of the Chicago group was undeniable, DMST also had more going for them than riding the wake of Tortoise-influenced instrumental bands. With their dual drummers, prominent bass lines, and various instruments, tones, and moods, DMST embraced rhythm while exploring succinct melodies, and the alleged jazz-influence probably emerged as a result of this. They revel in the ecstasy of repetition and groove without loosing sight of hook and structure, a trick first perfected on their sophomore album, Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead. Like most of us, I first discovered DMST with the release of their stellar &yet&yet and Hymns records in 2002 and 2003. Since The Other Truths is their 6th studio record, it may be possible to project an arc to DMST’s career at this point, though I will try to resist this. However, those middle albums may always be the benchmark against which DMST are judged, if only because of the nostalgia we all feel towards them. And they are fantastic albums, to be sure.

Many were disappointed when You, You’re a History in Rust was finally released in early 2007. Following the previous two records, DMST waited about four years until their follow-up, while members Charles Spearin and Ohad Benechetrit toured on the success of their other band, Broken Social Scene. In truth, it was a fine album, but it fell short after the aforementioned success of the prior two albums. Really, what wouldn’t have? In the time since that album, Spearin released The Happiness Project, Benechetrit released Years, and Justin Small released the latest from his husband/wife drum and bass-guitar group, Lullabye Arkestra; all excellent records in their own right. I suppose one could say our expectations were lowered, and many felt that the band had peaked with those now-classic records from the beginning of the decade. The Other Truths, not unlike Tortoise’s Beacons of Ancestorship, is testament of a band stepping out of it’s own shadow. DMST have emerged from a cocoon of sorts, and the result is simply beautiful.

Like Tortoise, who have also made stylistic leaps with their most recent LP, DMST make music that is still identifiable as their own, despite the fact that they often utilize tones and styles at times unlike those on their past records. Like a textile woven out of the same material, the image can vary from piece to piece and still be made out of the same materials, or by the same weaver. The four tracks of The Other Truths come together to form a distinct whole, and each is a shining distillation of everything that makes DMST a great band. With so few tracks, no missteps could be afforded, and none were made.

“Do” opens the album, and doing is certainly done here. The song begins with just one guitar, panned to the right. The second guitar comes in, panned left, and slowly the bass and two drums are added. As the song progresses, supplemental instrumentation enters, and the central motif is reconstructed again and again. “Do” is guitar heavy during the opening, but the song slowly builds to a climax of horns and non-lyric vocals. The bass vacillates between two octaves in a way reminiscent of disco, though only subtly, but it drives forward more steadily in the bridge. The band allows the climax to recede and takes its time winding down. Though much of the song is build-up and denouement, the listener is left with the feeling of an upbeat, energetic track.

“Make” is more somber and the groove more hypnotic, justifying the deconstruction at the end and making for an appropriate transition into the mood of the following song. This time the vocals do indeed have lyrics, though they are difficult to make out and I suspect they are not central to the experience. Rather the chorus of voices is used effectively to add texture and emotional resonance. The horns become more present, triumphant, and proud. Though the song has a segment one could identify as the climax, the crescendo is so subtle that the moment of transition is never apparent. The climax likewise winds down in similar fashion, slowly decaying over the course of a minute until about the 9:20 mark and demarcating a final movement, akin to the segmentation of a GY!BE piece. Though much of this final movement is effects-driven guitar noise, the horns return slowly to tie everything together and steer the band back into a transition to the third track. Thus, the image we are left with is one of a mellow composition, despite its actual arch. At over twelve minutes, “Make” is as beautiful and complex a piece of music as any in the band’s career.

“Say” is, for me, the highlight of the album. The slow, ambient build with the repetition of the guitar and rim-shots on the snare clear the way for the main guitar motifs at around two minutes. Like “Do,” “Say” adds each instrument one at a time, first allowing the guitars to settle into a dance before a trombone adds its voice and constructs one of the most captivating melodies I’ve heard all year. Of course, the band is too patient to give in entirely, and the reset button is pressed to start the same build up over again, this time adding a horn part earlier to allow for the introduction of a more complex counterpoint with other instruments. It is in the construction of the counterpoint of relatively simple parts that the band shines. Now with three or four distinct horn parts swirling against the guitar, they unite into the ‘chorus,’ this time with more vigor, and transition into a bridge, again delaying the gratification of climaxing too early. The tension remains, however, and is gradually increased, transitioning into a arpeggio guitar riff while the guitars and other instruments slowly swell and the bass hints at the direction to come. The horns together call out eight times and the final climax begins. At this point the melody is expected and is as beautiful as ever, somehow given a different meaning on the trumpet. Like “Make,” we are treated to a lengthy final movement deconstructing the first two thirds of the song. Vocals come in at the very end, against a beautiful backdrop of horns. “Standing out,” they seem to say, but again the simple lyrics are unimportant compared to the texture of the chorus and the sonic sculpture of the various voices.

“Think,” unsurprisingly if the title carries any significance, is the most contemplative of the four, and in some ways sounds the most like old DMST. Ambient noise clouds the backdrop; we hear what sound like keys and a bike-bell, while several guitar parts are slowly introduced over brushed drum parts. Low vocals can be heard ‘oooh’-ing under the whole thing, adding both an eerie and soothing quality, depending on the mood of the listener. The sonalities of the voices begin to blend with the other instruments, possibly masking keys. “Think” is also the shortest track on the album, despite the fact that it is over eight minutes long. As the most mellow, it makes a fine closer, winding down the lows and highs of the prior three epics. Though each song has its own narrative of ups and downs, the album itself also seems to rise and fall organically and marks a rising period for the band as a whole.

As on YYAHIR, The Other Truths features vocal contributions from Akron/Family and Lullabye Arkestra.  Some critics and listeners have decried the vocals, but really, they are minimal and used more for emotion and effect. The lyrics, when there are any, are not complicated, but rather just conjure a simple image and add a greater variety of texture to an already impressive sonic palette. The band’s third album, &yet&yet, was the first to feature vocals, an overly ethereal melody provided by Tamara Williamson. The vocals used on this record are not unlike that, but with more contributors the band has used the voice as instrument to even greater effect.

DMST are the sort of artists who have built a body of work, and should be considered as such; The Other Truths is a part of a larger oeuvre, though it easily stands on its own as well. It has everything one looks for in a great work: coherence, compositional sophistication, energy, dynamism, and emotional nuance. The production stands up to the playing and the work as a whole is incredibly moving and rewards repeat listens. Another mark of a great album; it augments the entire spectrum of human emotions, joyful, triumphant, and uplifting as easily as tragic, resigned, and sorrowful.

The production and engineering was again handled by the band-members themselves, and as a result, The Other Truths is a rewarding listen on headphones. With years of experience working with a great variety of artists, the band has learned to utilize its skills and equipment to augment the sound aesthetic that is central to DMST. Many subtleties of a record such this are lost on speakers, even though it is immensely satisfying to blast at high volume. Thus with headphones, we are given a different listening experience, and the mutability and versatility of The Other Truths takes another shape. The arrangements are superb, and the band has, at this point, an expert understanding of the tonalities of their instruments and the nuances of production to weave it all together.

The band transcends, combining both a looseness (in part from the dual drumming), with a sophistication of playing and production, maintaining an organic feel and texture which is all their own. Their latest is not only a return to form, not only proof that they have mastered their idiom, but also proof that that the language has more to tell us. Rather than dropping their identity and following flavor of the week trends, they continue to maturely develop their craft. We should not be so quick to declare styles dead, but instead remember that it takes time to develop and perfect a voice.

[originally published at The Silent Ballet, 2009]