When departing from the primary goal of meticulous tempo-keeping, the bass plugs into Swan’s tremolo and Arrington’s spacious licks tastefully, with exceptional voicing in Ruby Leaf. They bring a sophisticated, unique low end to the group with swooping crescents and deep melodies. In an interesting timeline, Swan and Donovan Melero end up contributing the basswork of Compassion. How he manages to fit so much sound into a single riff still baffles me.
Finally, Swan’s weightless, growling buzz and high-octane wah effects electrify Compassion’s grooves. Next is the fat spoonful of funk that comes together with the acclaimed pacing of Dance Gavin Dance’s best instrumentals. Firstly, his bustling tremolo chop licks and perfectly curated tone are in peak form in Compassion. Will Swan’s debut performance on Compassion exceeds the guitarist’s legendary reputation. Overall, Arrington channels space in Compassion’s sporadic simplicity to turn quiet into quality, and I can’t get enough. His solo in Arms Race for God’s Grace floods the soundscape with bustling toms and a perfect splash. When he goes off, the results are fresh and gargantuan. Next, the way he gets his cymbals to whisper are perfect for the quieter moments of Compassion. Arrington’s resting pulse is where many drummers peak. To start, he nails the duality between frenetic and low-key, filling and leaving space with virtuoso confidence. Joseph Arrington’s percussion doesn’t freaking let up. He punctuates Compassion’s tracks with physics-defying euphoria. Medina plucks and flourishes his way to the heart of Compassion’s most evocative moments. Tempered and furious, spring-loaded and ethereal. Medina plucks life-giving spells through his guitars, animating their sound to that of Living Creatures. An untrained ear would liken his fervent fretting to Santana or Hendrix. Sergio Medina’s eloquent guitar style escapes description. Topped off with a kick of nimble rhythmic style, Travis takes risks and wins big in Compassion. His expressive melodies layer together beautifully. Travis’ blistering intensity pushes Compassion’s choruses to hurricane force.
Kurt Tr avis ’vocals are sweet and intense, rhythmic and poetic- a fitting core to fuel the band’s biggest moments. Certainly, Royal Coda wildly surpasses my jaded expectations and pushes the term “supergroup” forward. Because of this, I furrow my expectations for the term more and more each year. Through gyroscopic motion and Marie Kondo-like spacing, Compassion inundates a listener with sweet, sanguine emotion.Įvery year brings another “supergroup” to the scene. It builds cyclopean walls of sound, and it evokes ghastly refrains of death and memory. Their transitions predict and subvert a listener’s expectations while achieving deeply cathartic results.Ĭompassion paints a cinematic soundscape across a great many moods. Compassion’s production is sharp and imaginative. Royal Coda knows when to be magnificent, and they know when to drive their point home simply. Throughout Compassion, Royal Coda weaves intricate and expressive textures with space to breathe. In a sleek eight tracks, Compassion depicts itself grandly. Compassion is Royal Coda’s gem, uniting its members with Will Swan and Steffan Gotsch in an orchestrated reach for greatness. Royal Coda, the Blue Swan super-group, has metamorphosed into a masterpiece with their second studio LP Compassion.