Cursive - I Am Gemini

Cursive seem to be me of those bands have passed me by, for whatever reason, and whilst undoubtedly a solid album, the band’s 7th album 'I Am Gemini' has failed to make me fall for them.

Switching between heavy Bright Eyes-esque folk rock and post-hardcore infused sounds, but rarely pushing the boundaries of either, it rarely gets dull but scarcely thrills either. A concept album about two brothers, one good one evil who meet after years of being unaware of the others existence, frontman Tim Kasher'a story telling is captivating for sure, yet potentially too cryptic to draw in the casual listener.

It appears to fall into the same trap as most "concept albums", being that the concept is a little hard to access without putting in solid listening time, and it is the concept that makes it work. It flows well musically, with many themes recurring, yet as with the rice, it takes time to get your head around these themes, time few but already hardened fans of the band are, unfortunately, likely to give it.

There's a great record in here somewhere, one that it is clear a huge amount of work has gone into, it's just a record that takes a lot of work. On a brief listen it is unlikely to draw you in, but persevere, it's worth it.

7.7

Sean Collison