We had somewhat forgotten Manchester Orchestra who had offered us in 2017 a refreshing "A Black Mile To The Surface", introducing us to their new writing talents and a new, much more atmospheric image. Four years later and after a first epidemic wave, the wait is over. Always as cheerful, Manchester Orchestra makes us witness this time a man's encounter with the Angel of Death who will make him relive some crucial moments of his life. If the lyrics remain, as the tradition wants, not always intelligible and rather free in their interpretation, the music will not fail to join the various themes to sink a little more in the meanders of the protagonist's mind and to make feel the numerous feelings which are jostling there.
Good news for the recent fans of the band, "The Million Masks of God" is the logical continuation of "A Black Mile To The Surface". We find the ethereal aspects of their previous production, the sumptuous arrangements, the majestic choirs and of course Andy Hull's voice, really amazing, nasal and fragile and which regularly goes to search for its limits in the high notes to bring maybe a little more emotion to a set which already doesn't lack it. Beginning with 'Inaudible', a true reflection of 'The Maze' with its superimposed vocal lines, its aerial synth arrangements, its small instrumental explosion and its final song to give the shiver, "The Million Masks of God" takes the listener by the hand, gently, not to let it go until the last track.
Each titles is an enchantment, a dive in a score which is a formidable box of surprises when one takes the time to listen to it carefully. Because in addition to the work on the voices and the choruses, it is all the group which puts itself in the diapason. Starting with the rhythmic work with a very lively bass that refuses monotony, playing on the harmonies, proposing breaks ('Obstacle') or even making the melody ('Way Back', 'The Internet') and of course the drums that also shines by its finesse, by making his hi-hat sing (superb work on the accents and the openings), by dynamizing the titles ('Bed Head', 'Let it Storm'), by offering precise but not invading toms rolls and by proposing innumerable plans which embellish the title or bring him a boost of power (the end of 'Keel Timing' or that of 'Bead Head')
But in the manner of Steven Wilson, it is also on the diversity of the sonorities that one will be able to remain stunned. It is impossible to mention all the flourishes that flood the tracks, often going unnoticed but which make the essence and the success of Manchester Orchestra's music, not to mention the electro effects that also bring a lot of variations to the whole ('Dinosaur') - electronic drums, strings, piano and synthesizer sounds of all kinds and from all eras.
Nothing is left to chance in this "The Million Masks of God". When we think that the title said everything, there is always the small variation that kills, a memorable vocal line, an explosion that sends the song to another dimension ('Dinosaur', 'Keel Timing', 'Obstacle', 'The Internet'), a saving break, etc. It is quite simply a faultless. Open your ears, you will not have every day an album of this quality to listen.