Neither/Nor - Charles Atlas

Album: To The Dust: From Man You Came And To Man You Shall Return

The opener of the album, Neither/Nor, prepares the listener for a voyage into post-rock’s most ambient and cinematic side. The track opens with a mesmerizing guitar line that is repeated through most of the song. Then the piano enters with a mournful melody, followed by the melodica, they start a slow and quiet build up when suddenly a guitar solo takes the stage. All of this sets the stage for an outstanding listening experience, as then the cello and the synthesizer are introduced with a very gentle mumbling in the background appearing sporadically.

The instruments work together to create a cohesive composition. While some of them are the main feature during some passages of the song, they leave the forefront for others when the song needs it, creating a beautiful sensation of harmony throughout it. At the end the instrumentation starts to fade away, leaving the listener with a cathartic sensation as the guitar and cello take their last breathe before the song ends

Post-rock is mostly a genre that focuses on what images music produces in the listener, Charles Atlas create a very cinematic atmosphere throughout this song. Personally it feels as if I was in a desert of snow, a sea of white which no traces of human life ever touched it. There is a feeling of loneliness and wondering in the song, as if the listener was about to be part of a long and lonesome exodus towards the absolute nothing. At the same time it is a rewarding one, as there is a certain warmth in the song, a feeling of fulfillment and self-realization that is achieved during the hard, long and lonely trip on which the song takes you.