Free Metals: Locktender - Rodin

Locktender's Rodin consists of four songs, and each one focuses on a different sculpture by Auguste Rodin. When I first came across this record and its concept, I was intrigued (mostly because of how much my wife and I enjoyed the Musée Rodin on our honeymoon) but unsure of how a band could pull off such an idea. This, however, is not Locktender's first attempt at such a feat. Apparently, this is what Locktender does - they write songs about artists and their works (Franz Kafka, William Blake, Herman Melville, Earl Nightingale, Raphael Gleitsmann).

"The Burghers of Calais" is an ambitious 19:41 long, but it twists, turns, builds, and explodes throughout so that it never feels overlong. Imagine a heavier Explosions in the Sky with post-metal vocals. "The Thinker" feels short at only about four minutes, and its first half feels like everything's about to cave in until clean vocals cut in and ask "Can we still find the light at the end of the tunnel? " "Eternal Springtime" is the calmest bit of the record - an instrumental featuring the violin. It's the calm before the storm of final track "The Man with the Broken Nose." This last song has more of the loud/quiet dynamics that Locktender does so well.

Rodin is not an album that should be overlooked.  In fact, it's one of my favorites of this year.  Plus, it's available as a free download here.